Pokemon Gijinka: Walking Among Us
by NightFall-sensei
Summary: After being sent to our world by Arceus fifty Pokemon must learn to adapt and slowly search for a way home. Follow the adventures of a Pokemon who is on the crossroads of his beliefs and the friends that will help him hold to them. OCs are closed. Ja nee.
1. Walk with Humans

New fanfic (cue fanfare)! As you can tell by the summary this is a Pokémon Gijinka story. When I used to be NightLife101 I wrote stories like this but none of them really ever got off the ground so I'd thought I'd do this one and see if you can help me. The OC template for this story will be at the bottom of this chapter so check it out after you're done reading…or if you want to just skip that step then go ahead and take a look at the steps needed to be taken to make one.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Prologue: Walk with Humans<p>

Horns honked in the crowded streets as drivers shook their fists in fury and rage trying to and failing to keep traffic moving at a more desirable speed. Police officers blew their whistles as they directed traffic around a large accident in the center of the bridge. The two drivers stood outside their cars stressed as much as possible and looked at the officers waiting to leave the scene.

As the officers were about to finish one turned around and froze in fear as he looked at a figure slightly shorter than himself. The figure simply looked at him and walked away without a word and passed the heavyset officer who gripped onto his shoulder and turned him around to speak to him.

"Now look here, boy," he said reprimanding the figure and then looking down at his face and then freezing in fear much like the officer before.

Falling to the ground from fear the officer looked at the boy's face and found it to be a skull mask with only one eye visible and almost seemed to be moving from side to side. The boy turned back to face the other side of the bridge and flipped his black cloak in the wind leaving the two officers traumatized and in utter shock at the boy's face.

Walking across the bridge with the drivers all watching him the figure would sometimes stop and turn to look at them as they quickly reacted to his movements and looked forward when he reached the end of the bridge and quickly dove off into a forest on the side of the road. Panting while running through the forest the boy ducked behind a tree and placed his back gloved hands together and disappeared from view.

"Where'd that little troublemaker go?" a man asked angrily with several other men following him. "He thinks he can literally destroy an officer's bravery and get away with it? I'll show him."

The man wore a blue business jacket complemented by his blue slacks and his black tie fitted tightly around his neck. His face showed a long scar along the one side of his face from his right forehead down his right cheek. The atmosphere around him was like that of a starved beast ready for its next meal making even the officers helping him terrified in his presence. The man searched around the tree where the boy was hiding and found nothing and simply left the forest angered.

"He's here somewhere!" he yelled to the other people the boy assumed were, like the other two, part of the same league. "Comb the area until you find him. Don't bother in the forest, it's too obvious, and this kid is no dummy."

After the men left the boy reappeared and simply sat with his knees pushed up against his chest as his mask fell off his face revealing one eye covered by a black eye patch and the other a deep amber eye. The hood from his cloak fell off as well revealing his black hair that ran down the sides of his face. Sighing heavily the boy brought his hand to his head and held it in disgrace as he looked back down at his body as though he were confused by it.

"What was I thinking?" he said regretfully. "We were fooled by him. He's making us do all the work here while he just sits by and watches. All the while controlling us like puppets. I thought I could trust him, I thought we all could've trusted him…Arceus."

Standing up the boy dusted off his cloak and put the mask back on with his hood now over his head hiding his hair from view. Walking deeper into the forest the back side of his cloak flipped into a small bit of sunlight revealing two horizontal and parallel bones stitched into it.

"_How did it end up like this?"_ he thought to himself. _"It was just two weeks ago that this happened. My body was normal; it wasn't uniform compared to those people out there. My body gracefully floated in the air with my skull concealing my single eye. As a Duskull, that's really all you care about. But that decree, that invitation, it was a foolhardy mistake. Arceus sent that decree that he wished as many Pokémon that were willing to become his envoys for the exploration of a world that didn't have any Pokémon species, but had legends of us deep rooted in their mythology. Arceus himself, he knew that this world was full of people who could recognize us as living things, but would be slow to acceptance so he told us that he wanted us to prepare for the day when he would attempt to grant all Pokémon and humans the ability to cross the dimensions of our worlds. We were seen as idiots by the elders of our species, me and the other Pokémon, but we were determined to finally do something with the powers that we have._

"_When all of us relayed to Arceus that we would be his envoys he simply said, 'This is what I expected. You lot of dreamers, thinking that you have some higher purpose in the world of Pokémon. Now I'm going to send you far away and test that silly faith in dreams. Give the other world regards. But as I am a Pokémon and can perform no evil I will warn you, you cannot let anyone in that world know the existence of our kind, that world is filled with people who are able to manipulate power in different ways and snare you into their power. They can abuse and force that power out of you ending your lives; this even applies to ghost Pokémon. I say this to you not as friend but as a king who genuinely cares.'_

"'_So why are you sending us away?' I asked. He said to all of us, 'You are Pokémon who believe that if you truly are to be considered in any world you need, but only your dreams. I need proof to see if that is true. I bid you farewell!' he shouted as he sent us between a dimensional rift with Palkia's help. As the lot of us travelled through the rift we saw our bodies change to that of the humans who lived in our world and saw us as their friends. Some us found our bodies as improvements, but some us found it as a curse. In any case, I have to keep moving, try to find the others without being caught by that man."_

The boy revealed to be a Duskull in human form continued to travel through the forest while always watching his back. Reaching the outside of the forest Duskull (as we'll call him to make things easier) found himself in a small town with a sign that read in large letters, "WELCOME TO LONDON."

"L-london?" he questioned looking at the sign from all angles as he took off his mask and ran into a small shop when he saw the man from the forest looking around in a crazed manner much to the fear of his subordinates.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked in a British accent as Duskull looked up at her. "Is there something you need? Like a change from that Halloween costume?"

Looking at her for several seconds Duskull widened his eyes as he looked at the woman and suddenly dimmed them, "Yes actually, I need a change of clothes and was hoping to get your opinion on whether or not they would work on my person," he said copying the accent exactly.

"And here I thought you were one of those illiterates who couldn't so much as speak like a proper gentleman," the woman said shuffling through her clearance items. "Let's see…no matter how you look at you darker colors seem to be what say who you are. I'll give you the thin black jacket, dark gray t-shirt, and black jeans for…y'know what? Take 'em. There not worth what I'm selling them for and I think you could find a better use for them than I could."

Looking at her confused Duskull walked into a room and changed out of his clothes and walked out a few minutes later looking as though he weren't the Pokémon incarnation of the grim reaper. Walking towards the woman Duskull was handed a large bag that was slung over his shoulder and found that his mask and cloak were inside.

"Why are you helping me so much?" Duskull asked curiously.

"I have my reasons," the woman said shooing him away when he ran into a man who had just walked in the store. "Oh, Inspector Smithson, what an unexpected surprise, is there anything I can help you with."

"Yes," the man said in his gruff tone. "We are looking for this boy," he said showing a rough sketch of Duskull in his cloak and mask. "Unless this is the boy we're looking for I think our business is done. And seeing as he's a bag and this fugitive isn't, I bid you good day and apologize for the trouble."

"A real prince charming that one," Duskull said standing up and dusting himself off. "If that's all I must be getting on my way."

"One more thing," the woman said hailing Duskull over to the counter again. "Take these clothes with you, that way people don't think you're mooching off of me every season," she said handing him a pair of black shorts, a long black overcoat, and a set of black and gray flannel pajama bottoms. "Use them for whenever the weather changes; the shorts are for when the temperature is slightly hotter, the coat is for when the temperature drops, and the flannel pajamas are for when you sleep to make you more comfortable."

"Thank you," Duskull said still slightly confused by her hospitality.

"Good luck, Duskull," the woman said after he walked out the door. "In this world, it's what we all need."

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><p>Prologue complete. I know its shorter than most of my material, but hey, it's a prologue, it's supposed to be short. For those of you interested in making an OC this is the template below, and then below that will be an example of what it would look like.<p>

OC Template:

Name (Pokémon Species/Codename/Gender (required for Pokémon who can be both genders))

Apparent Age

Appearance in Human Form (Do not add Pokémon traits as there is a section for that; if necessary describe hair style in full detail, add height, build, and eye color if you want)

Traits borrowed from original Pokémon form

Life in the Pokémon world (Think of it like a history and what led up to the decision to become one of Arceus' envoys, also add where in the Pokémon they come from)

Attitude towards being sent to our world (try not to be all mad and critical in this section; think of you yourself would react to it)

Basic Personality (Can be separated into how they were before or after being sent across the dimensional plane, but all I need is how they are generally prone to act)

Base of Operation (What country do they operate from)

Occupation (Keep in mind as this does not focus on Pokémon trainers that the occupations are more widespread to real world occupations)

Since they have become humans; what kind of persona attracts them; or who would they seek romantically and as a friend

Copied accents

Available Moveset at current level (This will be subjected to change as the story progresses; if you wish, you made add their approximate level)

Outfit (Keep in mind that there is a difference between this and their clothing; this section is for how they look when in their actual Gijinka form)

Clothing (Separate into different sections dependant on weather changes and for sleep; this can include outfits for swimming if so desired, another section that will be required is formal wear in the case I add formal occasions to the vast array of story ideas)

Specialties in human world

Additional notes: Idiosyncrasies they may have, sentence structural systems, notes about who they are and what makes them them

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><p>Now for my OC<p>

Name: Duskull/Itzal*/Male

*Itzal is a name from the Basque language meaning "shadow"

Apparent Age: 16-17

Appearance in Human Form: Around 6' 0" with a skinny figure, black hair reaching down his cheeks across the sides of his face and down to his eyes from the forehead.

Traits Borrowed from original Pokémon form: One single red eye, the other is non-existent and hidden behind an eye patch

Life in the Pokémon World: Like all ghost Pokémon Duskull found most of his joy in scaring other Pokémon and people. But as his life went on Duskull began to question whether or not Pokémon like him, in a way deceased, have anything else to offer to their world minus the all day haunted house. Often reprimanded for his supposedly flawed way of thinking Duskull's elder, Dusknoir, repeatedly and publically attacked him for his ideology, and originally gladly accepted the opportunity to leave his original home in Mt. Pyre.

Attitude towards being sent to our world: Confusion and a feeling of betrayal has reached Duskull in the sense he feels that Arceus tricked him and the other Pokémon into leaving because of their desire to know more than they should about the way their world works; may be taking this too personally.

Basic Personality: A Pokémon, who questions everything and never takes anything but a straight answer, can be easily angered and forced to violence, but can truly show genuine care for another person. Finds it easier to communicate with people and Pokémon who feel betrayed and finds it much more comforting to know that other people and Pokémon know the feeling of suffering.

Base of Operations: London, England

Occupation: Acts as a security officer at his school and part time detective and expert on the supernatural.

Attracted by: Almost no one, but finds it easy to open up to people who can understand and not feel distanced from him because of his problem with being betrayed.

Accent: Proper English, the Queen's English

Moveset: Will o Wisp, Shadow Ball, Ice Beam, Shadow Sneak (Lv. 33)

Outfit: Long black cloak with a hood that covers all of his hair with two horizontal parallel bones designed on it, scratched up white skull mask that gives off an illusion that his eyes is moving from side to side.

Normal clothing:

Thin black jacket, gray t-shirt, black relaxed jeans, black Velcro one shoes

Winter:

Jacket is buttoned up and a long black overcoat is added along with two black gloves

Summer:

Jacket is not worn and jeans are replaced by black shorts reaching to the bottom of the knee

Sleep wear:

Black and grey plaid flannel pajama bottoms, his usual gray shirt

Formal wear:

Black tuxedo with a red neck tie

Specialties: Cooking, cleaning, deductive reasoning, and supernatural reasoning

Additional Notes: Often asks "What're you smoking?" when he hears an idea or notion he deems as ludicrous or stupid, and often says "Shoot me…" when he something ironic happens.

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><p>A final note! The following Pokémon cannot be used as an OC; Pokémon with the letters N cannot be negotiated, Pokémon with the letter M can be, but only if you make a good enough case; if you fail at making your case I will still use your OC, but your Pokémon will go to the evolution before it becomes the Pokémon you originally picked:<p>

All legendary Pokémon: N (This includes Pokémon from Unova, and all Trio Pokémon; e.g. Zapdos, Moltres, Articuno, Suicune, Entei, Raiko, etc…)

Dragonite, Tyranitar, Hydreigon, Salamence, Garchomp, and Haxorus: M

Spiritomb, Rotom: N

Anything else is fair game, but I must ask that not everyone choose an Eeveelution as those are the most popular and those spots will fill in quickly, so my recommendation is that you either send those OCs earlier rather than later. (This may be an over-exaggeration, but that's what I see when looking up this kind of fanart).

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><p>Thank you for taking the time to get to this point, now you're ready to start, if you want to send me an OC know that I won't be accepting for very long and at the end of the next chapter in which I have 49 other OCs, that I am pleased with, I will set a part aside for credits and the <em><strong>CODENAMES<strong>_will be used with the creator beside them. Until we meet again, Ja nee.


	2. Learn With Humans

Here's chapter two of my newest fanfic. I understand this is a hard subject to write about since it's simply an art form, but bear with me on this. Since the last chapter was merely a prologue this is where the story actually starts. Also; as of now the story will be written in the perspective of Duskull aka Itzal. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 1: Learn with Humans<p>

The bright beams of sunlight shined harshly in my face through the venetian blinds. I placed the pillow over my face hoping to protect myself from the sun. Thankfully, the pillow proved strong enough to protect me from the sun but not from what was coming next. I counted down on my fingers from five and after reaching to nothing but a fist my door flung open with a bespectacled man standing in the doorway.

"Itzal!" he yelled in a low voice. "Out of bed now!"

The man walked in; based on my physical appearance he seemed at least two years older than me with a very muscular build. I met this man about a week after I first came to London. I was directed to a private school that would accept anyone if they'd be willing to work part time on campus. I figured it would be the best way to learn about this world so I signed up for a job with security which entails me to act as the campus gumshoe. The first day I was here I met this man, Jeremy. His father is in the royal army and Jeremy inherited his enthusiasm for such a profession. The only thing I like about Jeremy is his willingness to call me by the fake name I came up with, Itzal, which I am to believe is a name meaning Shadow in a different language.

I sighed as I walked out of the room with Jeremy behind me. I placed my hands together behind my back and crouched over just like I used to when I was still in my original form…if only I had the mask to scare this Vigoroth of a man. For the past week, however, the eye patch has been off-putting enough to keep everyone, _but _him away.

"Stand up straight!"

"Yeah, whatever," I said in contempt with Jeremy striking my back making me stand up straight. "Shoot me," I said under my breath.

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><p>Ever since I came here I found myself always saying that when I became annoyed by anything. Normally, I say it when I'm around Jeremy, or at least that's what I've felt. Ever since coming to this world I've found three reasons as to why it would be beneficial for me to go back to my own world; reason one, to get the answers I need from Arceus, reason two, to get Jeremy off my back, and reason three…will be coming up soon.<p>

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><p>Jeremy went ahead of me when we reached the courtyard of the school building. The school itself was an impressive structure from a distance; made of brick the building encompassed an area of about twenty four thousand square feet not counting the area outside, a large clock sat outside of the building that was rigged to ring every hour on the hour, the courtyard outside lined the two sides of the main road to the school building with freshly planted grass…or what they tried to pass of as grass. Stepping inside I recognized several of the landmarks inside since coming here; the building branched out to two sides in the shape of the English letter "T" and divided the school between middle and senior high school classes. Given how old the administration saw me to be I walk to the right side of the building to the senior high school section, but during my free period I walk to the middle school and to the security office where I work as a campus gumshoe to pay for temporary tuition.<p>

I walked into the class I was assigned when I heard the whole room go silent as I walked in. The entire class turned to face me and then cringe at the sight of my eye patch. Since I am unable to see the patch itself I was unaware of the skull pattern stitched into it until one of the students notified me of it out of fear.

I sighed with frustration from the fact that nobody would bother to honor a word to me, but at the same time enjoyed it to the point that I was able to focus on the information the teacher gave us on the geography of this world. I enjoy geography, to be honest, is there was anything I could take from this world it would be how the world is designed. To me it's like looking at a beautiful portrait painted by the most skillful Smeargle. It's actually the only reason why I haven't given up going to this school, that and the large library building set aside from the main building. About thirty meters (100 feet) away from the main building is a building about half the size of the school devoted entirely to books.

After geography I have a study time that lasts for about an hour in the library. The best part of it, no loud noises are allowed in the library. I can't read on anything for an hour without interruption…or so it would seem. Remember when I told you there were three reasons I wanted to go back…well, reason three comes in five, four, three, two, and one.

"Itzal!" a cheerful voice called out with a loud shush from the other students and staff.

"Shoot me," I said.

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><p>Meet reason three; Cassandra. She's the same apparent age as me and in my class from my third class to my fifth class before I have my job to do. She's about five feet seven inches, with long blond hair reaching down to about her waist, all I ever see her wear is the normal school uniform consisting of a maroon blazer, and a red and black skirt reaching to the knee, and with bright blue eyes that, to be honest, freak me out. Cassandra's a very nice girl, but she's too overfriendly, she tried too hard to make friends with me and is always reading over my shoulder no matter what it's about.<p>

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><p>"So what are we reading today?" she asked bending over to look at the book I had recently pulled off the shelf. "Ah, a book about the identification of the monsters in legends, I see. Really, I wish those monsters were real. I hear many of them are actually quite adorable."<p>

The monsters she refers to are the Pokémon that live in my world. Arceus did inform us that this world held legends of our power, and would therefore not accept us easily into their society. But if he met Cassandra and used her as the standard, he wouldn't think that as much. I swear that girl would invite the grim reaper into her house if he asked.

"Which one are you getting information on?" she asked with wide eyes.

"One of the ones that originated from the country of Japan, I think it's called," I answered. After three days of her incessant pleading I decided to talk with her more casually to get her off my back. "The Japanese call it Yomawaru."

"Oh, I love that one," Cassandra said surprising me slightly. "Don't English speaking areas call it Duskull?"

"Yes," I said confused by her comment. "What part of this creature do you find appealing?"

"What don't I find appealing is the question?" Cassandra asked in kind. "It says that when unprovoked it is graceful glider in the cold foggy air and that it only has one eye."

"You think having only one eye is a blessing?" I asked sarcastically making note of my eye patch.

"I think that's why I like you so much," she noted. "Your eye patch is just so manly and appealing to the eye, no pun intended."

"I'm sure," I said. "But I never thought something that can spirit away children and has a tendency to chase anything until dawn would appeal to anyone, at least who's in their right mind."

"But I do like them," Cassandra said reassuringly.

"Like I said, no one in their right mind," I said before picking the book up and leaving the library after checking it out.

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><p>The day nearly ended for my classes with musical studies which hold my interests to a point. At the school I attend it is required that you leave knowing and being proficient in at least one musical instrument. Upon arriving I was tested on several instruments but none held my interest. The sounds from them came out a bland or random noise even from the professors. So I sit in the back of the class looking through the many instruments they have available to learn.<p>

As music class continued the teacher, an aged woman normally dressed in a dull gray dress, would sometimes halt the classes rehearsal to check on my progress. I respect her for that, but she is also half blind and unable to see my physical features and is thus less frightened by me. I find her to be insane in that regard, but at the same time I find her more admirable for staying in her profession for so long with such a handicap. Over the past week I have searched through instruments of all kinds; flutes, trumpets, percussion, violins, guitars, mandolins, even an accordion, but nothing spikes my interest. I decided to give it up for the day when I heard a sound emanating from the end of the room with the teacher facing her students. The sound engrossed the room with sweet and moving tone, light and heavy. I turned to face her to find her playing a set of conjoined pipes decorated with beads from South America. For some reason I almost fell in love with the sound.

"They're called panpipes," the teacher said in her weak voice. "They are said to be the pipes played by the Greek entity Pan. They are used in much of South American Latin music. I see you every day, not as well as you see, but I see you. You sift through instruments that mean nothing because there is no sound other than these that can captivate you. Please learn to play these, and by doing so you will become a new man."

She handed me the panpipes and returned to her rehearsal with the rest of the class after bringing the baton up in front of her and waving as though painting the musical mural. I stepped outside and studied the pipes intently and breathed into one of the larger holes and heard a deep and rich tone come out that sent a chill up my spine.

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><p>After playing more notes on the pipes I returned to my dorm room and looked on both sides of me and took a deep breath walking into the closed door only to hit it and fall over.<p>

"So I really have lost my power," I said to myself. "Ever since I came here I can't turn intangible, I can't produce my attacks, and I can't shift my eye from socket to socket. The thing is though I could do all that before coming to London. There's a causal link I'm missing and I can't rest until I find it."

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><p>About an hour later I sat alone in the security office with my feet propped up against my desk labeled with my name. What good are these legs? I could move just fine without them. I mean, sure this world's technology is primitive, but there must be an easier way to get around than walking. Floating was always good enough for me. Well, I guess all wishes can't be granted like that now can they? Finishing my train of thought a call from the telephone sounded with a large ring as I walked up to it and answered.<p>

"Campus Security, you got the problem, we fix it…in two to three weeks," I said sarcastically into the receiver.

"This is the school dean," a gruff voice said through my ear. "We have an armed and dangerous intruder walking up to the school. Place the entire school in lockdown."

"Sure," I said nonchalantly. "ATTENTION STUDENTS AND STAFF; AN INTRUDER IS MAKING THEIR WAY TO THE SCHOOL AS WE SPEAK. PLACE YOUR CLASSES IN LOCKDOWN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. NOTE: SUSPECT IS TO BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS. THAT IS ALL."

Like I would care. Although, nothing's going right so far in this world. I lose my power, I can't get two annoying people off my back, and now we have an armed and dangerous intruder approaching the school. Hold up; armed and dangerous? As in carried what the people in this world consider a deadly weapon? Arceus said that when we came here that we would be susceptible to the same rules of life and death that the people. I should place it to the test.

I ran from the security office with thoughts running wild through my head.

Have to find the causal link for my power. Think, what was different then from now. When I was on the bridge was it simply the air pollution levels? No, that can't be it. Is it some kind of weather pattern? No, that would make me a Castform. What did I do that was different? Did something happen to me when I came to London? Hmm, what if, yeah maybe, it's possible, that could be it, yeah that's gotta be, it's not like I have much of another choice.

I reached the school gates and looked back and forth for the intruder only to find no one there. Not even remotely close to coming.

False alarm? Nah, the dean's a sensible man. The dean also has a more rich tone of voice. And the dean is a female. The man I talked to was first a man, and his voice was as rough as a tree with bark made out of sandpaper. Great, now the intruder knows that everyone is still in the building and he is armed and dangerous. The dean's office is closest to my class. He'll start there for sure.

I turned around and ran back to the school and then stopped halfway to the door and looked back at the dorms.

"Like I said," I started. "It's my only option."

I ran towards the dorm and disappeared into its doors gritting my teeth in frustration.

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><p>The intruder, a muscular man with hair growing all parts of his body, the most prominent on his arms, with a large pistol in his hand, walked through the halls of the high school with an evil grin on his face while chuckling.<p>

"Never thought that he would be so easily fooled," he said to himself. "Now to start my work," he said gripping the first doorknob he spied cocking the gun into the ready position.

Readying the gun by placing it up to the same level as his head.

"HEY!" I shouted alerting him making him turn his head.

The man looked at me and began to laugh out of sheer mockery at the way I looked. I was dressed in my black cloak, black gloves, and my skull mask from before.

"And what are you supposed to be?" he asked. "The grim reaper?"

"Maybe," I said bringing my arms up. _"Here goes nothing."_

"Well, let me show the true master of death," he said firing the gun towards me.

I closed my eyes and placed my hands together and breathed out when the bullet made contact with my body…and then passed right through my body. I sighed out of relief and thought to myself, I was right. The causal link between me and my using power is dependent on whether or not I wear my mask. It concentrates my power to the brain where it accesses 100% of my brain power creating my power.

"What are you?" the man shouted shooting seven more bullets and falling over onto his backside trying to back away from me.

The bullets passed through me as the one before as I charged towards the man as he screamed out of fear. Upon hearing the scream the doorknob jerked open with Cassandra peering head out of the door between me and the man. The man reacted and wrapped his arm around her neck and placed the gun near her head and chuckled evilly.

"Don't come near me, or the girl gets it," the man threatened for the entire school building to hear. "And that means you too," he said motioning towards me.

I took off the mask and kept my head hidden underneath the hood to keep anyone from knowing who was really fighting.

"Without my mask I have no power," I informed him placing the mask on the ground. "Shoot me!" I challenged him holding out my arms.

"You make this too easy," he said firing the bullet.

The impact of the bullet struck me on the shoulder and sent me flying backwards when I flipped the mask up with my feet and fitted it onto my head. The wound healed within a matter of seconds and I charged the man once again when I heard the trigger being pulled while it was up against Cassandra's head once again. The teachers and students all shouted "NO!" as they saw Cassandra fall to the ground.

"What?" Cassandra asked as she stood up with not so much as a burn mark. "My legs were tired and I fell over, big whoop."

"Nine bullets is your limit," I said looking at the man searched through his pockets for another clip.

The man jerked his head up to be met by my mask's face and the eye shifting from side to side. The man screamed again out of fear and recoiled back where he pulled out a knife and began slashing at me.

Silver-lined, I thought. I can't deal with silver, it's a precious material. But if I can turn intangible now and I can shift my eye I can always do this. I cupped my hands and placed one over the other.

"Shadow Ball!" I shouted as a dark orb appeared between my two hands that I thrust forward to the man.

Upon impact the man was launched in to the wall where I ran towards him again with my hands cupped once again but began breathing cold air into the space between the two.

"Ice Beam!" I shouted as my breath began to freeze.

The frozen beam shot towards the man's ankles and wrists holding him in place despite his struggling. I sighed out of relief that no one was hurt.

"How are you so fast?" the man asked about to pass out from exhaustion.

"That's for me to know and you never to find out," I said disappearing into the wind blowing through the door.

* * *

><p>Reappearing in the dorm room I sighed as I took off my mask and looked at the book beside my bed from the library.<p>

The book describes the many creatures that are akin to the Pokémon of my world. But it also states that sometimes they walk with humans, learn with humans, but they still retain many features that they have as Pokémon. Among the many though is a reaction speed that Pokémon have that could be considered inhuman. According to legend ever Pokémon has at least two to three times the reaction speed of an Olympic medalist, that they have a faster healing speed that can take effect in a matter of seconds to minutes. But no two Pokémon ever seem to have one thing in common; their take on whether or not they should protect humans or fight against. Every Pokémon seems to think differently about how we should react to the problems humans have.

It has a small saying at the end of each chapter as well; I think it was written by the Pokémon who first found it. I finished the chapter on Duskull or Yomawaru and it simply said this; the road to answers is never a straight one.

Upon arriving in this world I thought I never wanted to have anything to do with them, these people. But finding people like Cassandra, and like Jeremy I think I could get used to this world. Tomorrow I'll purchase the book from the library; it says that no one's checked it out since 1850. I don't think anyone's going to be looking for it. And I think it's really going to help me. Until the next chapter I read I will remember that saying; the road to answers is never a straight one.

* * *

><p>Chapter one finished, woot-woot! I don't know if you people notice, but I'm a sucker for fortune cookie saying like that. Also I would like to thank the people who have sent me OCs for the past week and I apologize for any future late updates. Until next time, Ja nee.<p>

Chapter two preview: When a famous French cuisine chef takes the cooking world by storm Duskull finds himself torn as to whether he should rejoin one of his own, or stay with his new friends. Next time; Cooking with Humans.


	3. Cooking with Humans

Here's chapter three of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Since I've showed you the life that Duskull leads in our world now it's time to start to introduce the many OCs submitted. At the end of each chapter now I will have a section for credits that tell who the OC is and who made him (e.g. Duskull/Itzal-Nightfall00).

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Cooking with Humans<p>

By the moonlight I worked with a needle and thread on my jacket hood and stretched my back as I finished. On the inside of my hood my mask sat comfortably.

"Now even when I'm not wearing it, I can still use my power," I said to myself as I noticed on the back of my jacket the two horizontal bones from my cloak were imprinted. I chuckled, "I appreciate the ambience."

I fell on the bed in a heap and fell asleep knowing that tomorrow was a day that I didn't have to wake up early; the best part of it was that Jeremy was going to be gone for the next two months at boot camp. I contently snoozed away until morning when I heard something approaching my door. I stood up in my gray t-shirt and black and gray flannel pants and walked over to the door and expected to see Jeremy back early just to wake me up like he always did but instead saw Cassandra's face meeting mine with a cheerful "hello" which I responded to with a door being slammed in her face. I walked to the kitchen area in my dorm and began chopping vegetables the school provided me with and added them to a salad that I was making for later and started last night before sewing. Finishing I placed the knife away and turned around to find Cassandra's happy face in front of mine. I recoiled back with a small scream and fell into my desk chair to find her in more casual clothing which, to me, seemed more of a nice ambience.

"Is there anything you need?" I asked getting back up and began cracking a couple eggs for my breakfast.

"Just thought you'd be interested in the cooking show that's started to air a week ago," Cassandra said leaning over onto my table and tablecloth.

"No I wouldn't," I said in a staccato fashion pulling the table cloth out from under her causing her to jerk forward.

"Okay let me rephrase this, you're coming with me," she said grabbing my collar giving me only enough time to grab my eggs and jacket with the mask barely visible from Cassandra's view.

Cassandra dragged me from the male to the female side of the dorm building for high school juniors where several of her friends cringed after seeing me behind Cassandra.

"Did you have to bring him, Cassie?" one of her friends asked.

"Come on," Cassandra reassured. "He's a student, and we should learn to get along with him, right?"

A cheesy them song sounded from the TV generating my interest when I saw a small child, about thirteen in years, walk to a kitchen counter on a TV set with relaxed blue eyes, yellow and red spiky hair, a pair of light brown sweatpants, a t-shirt of the same shade hidden under and a darker brown sweatshirt with a typical chef's hat.

"Welcome to Cooking with Kazan," the boy said nonchalantly bowing to everyone. "Today's episode is airing from Spain so I thought I would make some Paella Valenciana. First we…" the boy started cooking at the stove that heated within seconds.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Cooking with Kazan," one of the girls said as they all huddled around the TV.

"Yeah, I got that," I said. "But who's this Kazan kid?"

"He's some super brainy French cuisine chef who is half French and half Japanese so he gets a lot of attention. Every now and again he'll go to another area in the world and cook a famous dish from the area," Cassandra explained as I watched the boy on the TV intently at his technique in cooking for the next hour.

"_Brainy kid my left eye, or the lack thereof," _I thought.

After the show ended I walked back to my room and shut the door behind me and grabbed the monster identification book from the library off the shelf and began flipping through the pages looking for the right page. I ended my search after turning to a page labeled "156" and read the entire page and closed the book shut after I was done and went right to the salad I had prepared earlier. I stopped eating for several seconds and then added a small bit of some spice and ate it with approval.

"I'll say this though," I said satisfactorily while eating. "He sure knows how to spice up a salad."

* * *

><p>The next weekend Cassandra invited me back to her room to watch the show again and this time I accepted wholeheartedly. Upon entering the girls also in Cassandra's room didn't cringe as much at my sight.<p>

Under normal circumstances the people here wouldn't be so accepting of me even after the three weeks I had been here. But certain situations began to give the students a better impression of me. In the past week there had been a lot of accidents around school that I believe have something to do with espionage. Course I have no proof, but the group that hangs around Cassandra and me seem to have been targeted lately. Could just be me, but I find the chances of a small gas explosion in the lunchroom, a set of construction pipes falling down from the building that they were braced against, and a rabid monkey from the zoo going loose into the school a bit too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. But I digress; anyway since then the girls and a lot of the rest of the student body has gotten used to me and aren't as distant from me. Not saying it's what I necessarily wanted to happen, but it is better than being the creepy kid who sits alone in his room all day long.

I heard the show's theme music and turned my head to see Kazan walking up with his normal laid-back attitude and approached the kitchen looking at the camera as though he could see the audience watching over the TV lines.

"Welcome to Cooking with Kazan; we're back in Paris and today I'll be cooking Basil salmon terrine," he said beginning to set up the kitchen for the declared dish while I watched the stove intently.

Just as Kazan turned around the stove erupted in flames and receded in the same instant. The other watchers seemed to not notice it, but I know what I saw.

"_Kazan is the Japanese word for volcano," _I thought watching him cooking the dish with no problems even when using two utensils at once. _"He's obviously a fire type, but what Pokémon? That's the real question. When I chose my name I chose a name that means shadow because of the night attribute my Pokémon name has. There's only one Pokémon that's designated with that name, but also has the incredible hairstyle."_

Once finished with the dish Kazan walked from the kitchen area and bowed to audience and thanked them for their hospitality.

"Thank you for coming to this week's episode," he said relaxed. "Next week I'll be in England, to be precise at the Yorkshire Private Academy by request of the dean there. Until then, Ja nee."

The four girls watching the TV squealed out of delight as Cassandra fainted from happiness. I chuckled and walked away with a fire in my eye. I entered my room and shed a tear out of my eye.

"Finally," I said. "I can leave."

Unbeknownst to me, however, Cassandra had regained consciousness and heard that last statement and gasped out of despair. She ran from my door and returned to her room and buried her face in her pillow and cried with her friends still in the room with her confused as to why she was crying.

* * *

><p>For the next week everyone began counting the days to the minute when Kazan would come including the teachers excitedly…except for Cassandra. Actually for the past three days she's been acting weird and it's been bugging me for some reason.<p>

"Hey, Cassandra?" I asked as she jumped at the sound of my voice.

"Y-yes?" she asked almost frightened.

"Is there anything bothering you?" I asked. "You've been acting weird for the last few days, and you've got me worried."

Tears began running down her face as she ran from the room almost hitting me with her book bag. I watched her run off and squinted my eye and contemplated for several minutes. One of Cassandra's friends tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to come with her.

On the roof of the building overlooking the courtyard I leaned over the overlook with Cassandra's friend sat on the support beam with her feet planted on the ground.

"I'm surprised you saw that something was wrong with her?" she said as I looked over the edge at the ground. "The question is do you know why she's upset?"

"For the life of me I've never been able to comprehend feelings like that," I said. "The only thing I've felt in my life is betrayal."

"Well, maybe Cassie's feeling something similar," she said as I looked up at her. "When you came here we all thought you were some crazy and a person we should avoid. So be thankful that all her screws aren't tightened. She was nice to you when no one else would. If anything you've grown to be someone special to her and she heard what you said."

"What did she hear?" I asked.

"You said you'd be able to leave and that made her feeling like you were betraying her trust because you were so secretive about it," she said standing up straight and walking back to the school building.

"…Now what?" I asked myself looking up towards the sky.

I heard the girl who had just left screamed at the top of lungs as she fell down the stairs to the regular building. When she almost fell to the ground I caught her in one arm while I gripped the stair bar to find it greased.

"_This can't be coincidental."_

* * *

><p>On Saturday morning Kazan was introduced to the dean and all the staff and then our specialists. At the end of introductions he was introduced to me and we shook hands as we both widened our eyes.<p>

"Nice to meet you, _Kazan_," I said with my grip still tight on his hand.

"Same to you, _Itzal_," he said in kind tightening his own grip.

Kazan left the administration office and entered the auditorium the studio rigged to act as a temporary stage where he was met with a large amount of applause that he seemed to be used to as he kept a relaxed smile on his face as he looked at the audience.

"Welcome to this week's episode of Cooking with Kazan," he said as I watched from backstage. "Today we're streaming to you from the Yorkshire Private Academy in London, England. Today, to mix things up I'd like to call a member of the audience down and a friend of mine to come to the stage to assist me in my purposes for today."

Upon hearing this the audience erupted in cheers with people raising their hands to be chosen, but only one person piqued Kazan's interest.

"How about the young lady seated in the seat E-35," he said as a spotlight shined as on Cassandra who reacted in shock and delight as she ran up and shook Kazan's hand. "And what is your name?"

"Cassandra Yorkshire," she answered excitedly.

"Well, Cassandra, it is very nice to meet you," he said with a bow while his hair fell over his eyes. "As for my special friend, I have found to be someone that has a hard time getting along with anyone. Your own security guard, Itzal!"

I walked out from the back of the stage and looked at Cassandra who found it very hard to look at me. Kazan chuckled slightly as I looked at him with an expectant look in my eye.

"You're a smooth operator," I whispered in his ear.

"Ain't that the truth," he said refitting the headset microphone back into place. "Now I have looked into the current situation of these two people and found out their having a bit of a spat. Now for a little context; I have known Itzal for approximately ten years now and I would like to extend an invitation to him allowing him to come with me and study at the same culinary school. But where's the fun in him just agreeing to my invitation, no, I thought why not hear how he likes the idea symbolically. We both shall make a simple dish, no fancy names, no fancy ingredients needed. The four administrators behind me will taste our dishes and decide the winner based on that. If I win Itzal comes with me, if Itzal and Cassandra win he stays."

I looked at Kazan and then at Cassandra who tightened a white headband with the word "FIGHT" down into it around her head. Looking back at both people I realized I was the living embodiment of the human saying "stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"_So basically this is a test to see who I am more loyal to," _I thought. _"Either I choose my own kind or the people that I learn about this world with. I take back what I said, Kazan, you're a con-artist."_

A bell sounded as Kazan began preparing a meal like mad and Cassandra doing the same. I found myself torn between the two options to the point where I became unaware of the situation around me, part of me wished that the game would be called on account of stupidity, but I knew that wouldn't be an option. I took a seat next to Cassandra who began furiously chopping up vegetables and adding them to a soup she was preparing.

"If you want to stay you have to cook," Kazan said not looking up from his work and then to me while still chopping.

The two of us squinted are eyes and widened them in the same instant and began to converse through telepathy.

"_Why're doing this to me, Quilava?" _I asked.

"_Because ever since we came here, you're the only one who's been swaying in their beliefs," _he answered. _"I need to know for myself. Since you came here what are your beliefs now?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Isn't it obvious?" _Kazan/Quilava asked in response. _"Arceus sent us here on the premise that we all have dreams and beliefs that we allow to govern our lives. For me it was always learning to make food, no matter where it was. For some it was just the experience of coming to another world, but you, Arceus sent me a message last week about your sway. Arceus cares about us, but he also doesn't make things easy for us. I'm here to ask you what you want to do with coming here. Specific to coming to this academy."_

I sat in silence and looked at Cassandra still chopping vegetables and then pricking her fingers from her uncontrollable speed.

"_I wish I knew,"_ I said watching Cassandra in front of me and the number of cheers coming towards her not to give up. _"I don't even know why Cassandra, a girl who can't even manage dry toast, is trying so hard to keep me, a person who was ready to leave her in a heartbeat, here."_

"_Maybe because she wants to let you know that no matter what you say or do she'll always be your friend,"_ Quilava said beginning to add spices to his dish. _"And maybe to show you that betrayal doesn't have to be your only emotion. Think about everything she's done for you since you came here, and everything she means to you."_

"_She's an annoying, overfriendly, overly cheerful, and a pain in the neck, but she's also caring, accepting, and above all a good friend."_

"_Do you know what it is you want?" Quilava asked._

"_I want, I want…I want to learn! With everyone!"_ I said standing up to face the audience as Quilava was almost finished with his spicy curry.

"_Brave talk,"_ he said in response. _"But can you finish in time."_

"_If Cassandra can show kindness to a Cyclops like me I can whip up a meal in less than 15 minutes that will surpass yours," _I said challengingly. _"It's not all about the heat…"_

I stood next to Cassandra and began chopping up cucumbers as she noticed me and smiled. Kazan looked at us and smiled as he watched me telling her what to do. With five minutes left Cassandra tapped my shoulders and whispered into my ear.

"It says we need thirty minutes, we don't have the time," she said nervous.

"Let me worry about that," I said putting up my hood with the teeth of my mask barely visible. "Just present our dish."

Kazan and Cassandra approached the four administrators and bowed in respect.

"For you I have prepared Spicy Chicken Curry," Kazan said presenting each with a plate of his dish. "Call it my specialty."

The four judges began scooping up parts of the curry and began chewing it satisfactorily and all gave Kazan four stars. Kazan bowed in thanks with Cassandra watching the four judges happily ate the rest of the dish in a total of three minutes. The four then turned to Cassandra expectantly when she looked at me and I gave a thumps up.

"W-well, for you Itzal and I have prepared for you something that Itzal said will be even better than what Kazan prepared," she declared as the audience gasped and Kazan looked at me expectantly.

"_You're bluffing,"_ he said to me through telepathy.

"_If you mean I didn't have a good plan when I started then yeah, I'm bluffing," _I responded.

"May I present our dish," Cassandra said as I carried the four bowls on both my arms. "Chilled Cucumber Soup."

"Chilled?" Kazan asked.

"Fifteen minutes isn't enough to cook something, so why not go the other way?" I said passing out the bowls to the four judges who all looked at it and studied it since the name didn't do it justice.

The first to take a sip, the school dean, widened her eyes in shock and began happily slurping up the rest with the other teachers following after her but only one other shared her taste for the dish. Two of the judges gave us three stars while the other two gave us a four and one five. Kazan looked at the five surprised and then looked at me with a smile.

"What's a more satisfying finisher to a heated meal than a cold and chilling meal?" I asked Kazan who smiled and bowed to me.

"I concede," he said. "It was nice to see you again, _Itzal._"

"I'm not done with you yet," I said grabbing him by the collar and dragging him along the ground. "Why did you concede?" I asked once we were outside.

"You got five stars," he said shrugging. "I can't compete with that."

"Fine, but why did you mess up on purpose?" I asked with him looking surprised. "You and I both know that the normal human capacity can barely tolerate that level of spice," I said recalling him putting the spice in his dish. "You knew that you would get graded down if that happened, yet you still did it, why?"

"Because I wanted you to win," he said shrugging his shoulders. "To me, contest should not be the decider of where a man's, or in this case a Pokémon's belief lies."

I twitched my eye and shot an Ice Beam towards him which struck his foot. His hair began glowing as he made a circle with his index finger and thumb and then blew through it. Upon passing through the air heated up and then began to erupt into small flames that melted the ice.

"A simple Ember always suffices," he said turning his back.

"Is that how you always heat up your stove at such incredible speed?" I asked.

"You're a good gumshoe," he said beginning to walk away. "But a much better friend."

I chuckled and walked back to my dorm room unaware that Cassandra saw the entire scene and was gasping for breath out of shock from what she saw. She clenched her fist and quietly followed me back to the dorm buildings.

* * *

><p>Looking through the section on Quilava I smiled as I saw a small saying at the end of the page like the one at the end of the Duskull page. This one seemed more like a children's handwriting.<p>

"The measure of a man is not his power, nor his possession, but the friends he makes and his unwillingness to leave them."

Placing the book away I heard a small knock on the door and opened it to find Cassandra who seemed to be in a mysterious state of shock.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Y-you're a Pokémon, aren't you?" she asked after hesitating.

"What?"

* * *

><p>Credits and Cast<p>

Duskull played by Nightfall00

Quilava played by Bionicleguru

* * *

><p>Chapter two complete. If you haven't read my other stories I tend to make thing end with cliffhangers. So you'll have to get used to it, for those of you who have just started reading my work. But we knew that this was going to happen, someone finds out the big secret, but the question is how will Duskull react to this and how will he choose to approach this?<p>

Chapter three preview: Since Cassandra has found out Duskull has a choice to make; erase her memory using his hypnotic powers, allow her to keep the memory, or doing her in. And since a new Pokémon arrives in England to cover the interesting security guard in the local newspaper and finds instead a treasure hunt and the answer as to why Cassandra's friends have been attacked can Duskull take care of himself, or should he have gone with Quilava? Next time: Discovering with Humans.


	4. Discover with Humans

Here's chapter four of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Since it's probably burning in your minds doing a recap seems a little redundant now, but what the hey? Last time, after an experience with one of his own kind Duskull passes on an opportunity to stay with him and decides to stay with Cassandra at the academy, but after a confrontation between the two Pokémon Cassandra finds herself thrown into the world that Duskull has tried so hard to keep secret. Also, a final note, I have attained 17 OCs so I still need thirty three before they close. I may be crazy trying to attempt this, but hey I am a crazy guy. High school senior, insanity comes with the gig.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Discover with Humans<p>

"Y-you're a Pokémon aren't you?" she asked hesitating.

"What?" I asked in shock recoiling back onto my bed.

"You can shoot ice out of your hands," Cassandra said. "And Kazan can breathe fire from a circle made by his fingers. You both have to be Pokémon. There's no other explanation."

"Sure there is," I said trying to reassure her.

"No," she said shaking her head. "You're obsessed with that book," she said pointing at the shelf with the single book. "You have all the parameters that make you a Pokémon in human form; heightened reaction levels, a faster healing rate, and your eye is the biggest indicator."

"My eye?" I asked placing my hand over it.

"Not that one," she said pointing at my eye patch. "If you're not a Pokémon then you won't have a certain mark on your covered eye."

I sighed and unwrapped my eye patch revealing a closed eye lid that when opened shut my other eye as though in a relay with my eye now in the opened lid.

"You don't have the capacity for two eyes, but you can use both sockets for your eye," she explained as though she had read my book. "You're a Duskull, aren't you?"

I stood in silence and walked to the door and locked it and sighed again as I placed my eye patch back on, "Bravo, Cassandra," I said. "Here's your prize; I will choose one of the three option; I can tell you everything and either tell you in confidence with the solemn promise that you tell no one, I can erase your memory to protect myself indefinitely, or I can kill you," I said tightening the grip on my gloves.

"Kill me?" Cassandra asked in fear as I turned around with my mask on and staring at her with the single eye moving back and forth.

"That's only an extremity in case memory erasing doesn't work because it doesn't always work on some people, so sit down and relax," I said taking a seat and offering her a chair. "Go ahead and ask a question."

"Why are you here?" she asked nervous as possible while taking a seat.

"I wish I knew the full details, but I can tell you the big picture," I said recalling what happened. "About a month ago fifty Pokémon species including myself were called by our king Arceus to become his envoys to prepare people for a day when he will cross dimensions and make a bridge between our two worlds…or so I thought. Arceus sent us away because of our idealistic views and faith in our dreams. In the past month I've only been able to meet one of the other Pokémon that was sent here, and that was Kazan. He is in reality a Quilava."

"How did he become so well known if it was only a month ago?" Cassandra asked as I relaxed into my seat.

"Chance," I answered plainly. "He was just in the right place at the right time. I talked to him before the start of our little contest and he told me he was found by a culinary school in Paris and a week later some TV recruiters found him and he had caught their eye with his inhuman skill at culinary arts."

"More importantly," Cassandra said looking back at the locked door. "How are you able to use powers like this when your DNA has been changed so much to the point where you look like a human?"

"That answer is a long one," I said taking a deep breath. "Pokémon in this world obviously don't retain their original forms; the reason for this I have no idea. But as Pokémon our human DNA is altered only slightly, but to the point where it cuts off all processes to the brain that allows making use of these supernatural powers. The small alteration in our DNA allows us to use a catalyst or some kind of defining feature that will send impulses to this human brain and allow us access to 100% of its potential. From this given our individual qualities each Pokémon can use different powers. For me, it's this mask. As you saw earlier it allows me not only the power to make attacks such as my Ice Beam, but it can also allow my eye shift and can allow me to turn invisible or intangible. For somebody like Kazan who has no alternative article of clothing or accessory his power is more easily accessed through his hair. However, should his hair go below a certain length he can't access any power. So his is more of a double-edged sword."

Barely able to keep up Cassandra looked at my hands and saw they were circling around and around. She yelped when she saw two small, blue fireballs appeared in the cup made by my two hands.

"What are you going to do with me?" Cassandra asked backing away from me.

"I figured it's no use killing you, but I can't leave you to know my secret…our secret," he said referring to the other Pokémon in the world. "Hypnotism is a hard process, but I think can make use of my Will O' Wisp attack to act as a method."

"How so?" she asked cringing as I came closer.

"It's simple," I answered. "I spin these around your head," I said as I let them go and they stopped on opposite ends of her head. "And I will tell you something over and over, your subconscious mind will take over and it will believe me. After I am done, you will not remember this," I said swirling my hands in circles as the fireballs began moving around her head.

"Wait!" she yelled. "I can help you!"

The fireballs stopped moving as I stopped my hands.

"What kind of help could you have to offer me?" I asked sitting back down with the fireballs copying my movements.

"You need information I'm guessing," she said relaxing her breath.

"Information on what?" I asked.

"Social situations," she answered plainly as though a ton of bricks fell on my head at the realization of that last notion. "As a person, or whatever the heck you are, who comes from a completely different world you have no idea how to handle different social situations and would therefore need someone to help you through them."

"You're a nasty sneak, you know that?" I said snapping my fingers with the fireballs disappearing at the sound of the click. "Fine, you can help me with social situations and anything else I don't understand about this crazy world on the solemn oath you tell no one about what you saw and what you know about the world I live in, understand?"

"Got it!" she answered cheerfully which I must say was refreshing.

"So, any other questions before I go to bed and hope with all my might that this really isn't happening to me?" I asked with my mood dimming sarcastically.

"Yes," she said as I sighed. "Is it possible that other Pokémon are here in London with you?"

"Definitely," I answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if I saw one within the next few days. For some reason Quilava has a link that allows him to speak with Arceus. So any information about the Pokémon here on this world should be directed towards him."

"Okay, good night," she said in a singsong fashion as she left the door and sighed with relief on the outside.

"That girl will be the death of me," I said laying down in my bed and looking out through the window as a shadow passed in front of it. I stood out of bed and looked out the window to find nothing near the window or in the general vicinity. "It can't be…"

* * *

><p>The next morning I woke up with bags under my eyes from lack of sleep and opened my door to find no one there. <em>"Something's not right,"<em> I thought. _"Sure, Jeremy decided to leave the school to join the regimen for the royal army, but even then Cassandra seems to have taken his place. Don't tell me, she's off blabbing? Oh, shoot me!"_

I bolted from the room in a mad dash and found her door left ajar to the point where I could peer inside. Finding no one in the room I ran out to the door and found Cassandra on the steps looking up at me innocently.

"Problem?" she asked turning her head back to face the main road to the school with her head held in her hands.

"How many have you told?" I asked panting while looking down at her.

"I may be a ditz, but I'm not that much of a ditz," she said. "Besides I only told her," she said looking down the steps at a girl who smirked as she looked at me.

The girl seemed older than the two of us by at least three years, but shorter than myself and about the same height as Cassandra if not shorter, black hair reaching down to about her shoulders, green eyes, sharp face, a pair of gold hoop earrings hanging from her ears, dark baggy jeans, a red tank top and black tank top underneath both covered by a black leather jacket, and a pair of dark colored trainers.

"Who are you?" I asked staring at the girl who had a haughty look on her face.

"Call me Brianna," she said pointing at herself. "A freelance reporter who would like to cover you for an upcoming article."

As she looked in front of her I was already walking back to the dorms yawning when she shouted at me.

"Hey! I wasn't done!" she said angrily.

"Sure, but I am!" I shouted back still walking back to the dorm with Cassandra following. "Why did you tell her?"

"She's a reporter," she said as though it was obvious. "They have their ways of getting things out of people and I wasn't about to go through something like that."

"Not just telling the press," I said looking back at the girl. "But why _her?"_ I asked.

"What's wrong with her?" Cassandra looked back to find her gone without a trace.

"Because she's an Umbreon," I said as she reappeared in front of us. "She's one of the fifty Pokémon who was sent here by Arceus. I found her name in the paper and thought her writing style was a bit strange given the heavy suspicion to every process of human social life possible so I looked into her and found she just appeared out of the blue a month ago. The connection was all too easy."

"So it's true what Quilava said," she said crossing her arms. "You really are a good gumshoe."

"I prefer detective, but to each their own," I said beginning to walk back to the dorm. "If you'll excuse me I have to work on something."

"Like what?" Cassandra asked.

"I have to figure out why all your friends are being targeted by whoever is sabotaging every aspect of this school," I said opening the door and walking inside.

"Perfect," Brianna said walking after me. "A detective in action, this'll be great for my article on him."

"If you don't mind my asking," Cassandra following after her with a small sprint to catch up to her. "Why do you want to cover someone like Itzal?"

"Because he beat a world class chef at cooking by a star and to the editors of my newspaper, that's news," Brianna answered. "And I wanted to see how the other Pokémon forced in this world are holding up. Quilava said he was on the fence on just about everything."

Following me back to my room I looked back to find Umbreon watching my back closely and holding a notepad with a hopeful look on her face. I walked into my dorm and shut the door behind me which hit her in the face as she fell backwards onto the floor. From the sounds outside she was obviously trying something to do with her Pokémon abilities but I figured it wouldn't work.

"Back to work, I guess," I said looking over the facts of the last four attempts at sabotage on school grounds. "Let's see we have the first incident in which the person was almost the victim of an explosion of gas in the lunchroom, but just with that it could be anyone since those lunch ladies are about as vigilant as a rock, the second was a set of construction pipes collapsing over even though they were braced by chains, but still it could be anyone, the third was that rabid monkey…normally I'd say no comment, but that means that they have access to the zoo administration which narrows the search, and finally the greased staircase. The grease was industrial strength that can only be purchased form specialty shops. So all I know about the culprit is that he/she has a grudge against either Cassandra or simply her friends, has access to zoo administration, and the money to get industrial strength oil for motor vehicles."

"This is all so interesting," Brianna said sneaking in front of me with Cassandra doing the same as they looked astounded at my flowchart.

My eyes remained half-open from being ticked off. Behind them I held up two fingers, the index finger on both hands, which erupted into two fireballs from my Will O Wisp attack. Placing the two fingers against their backs they both jumped back from the pain and heat as I went back to looking at my chart with a smug smile on my face.

"Not funny, Duskull!" Brianna shouted when I turned around with the smile still on my face.

"Well, it's much easier to concentrate without the press presence," I said shrugging my shoulders. "By the way, Cassandra have you stumbled upon anything recently that may have caused all of this."

"Something like a treasure map?" she asked after I turned my back.

"Yeah, sure, like a treasure map," I answered not fully believing her.

"Because that's exactly what I found about two weeks ago," she said with me falling over on leg.

"What are you smoking?" I asked out of disbelief when she was already gone leaving me alone with Umbreon.

"So," she said. "About that interview?"

"The answer remains as it always was; bite me!" I said as Cassandra returned with a long scroll of paper clutched in her hands. "Oy vey," I said holding my head as though having a headache. "Okay, let's see what it says."

Looking down at the piece of old paper I found it scrawled across the top with what I found to be random letters. Grabbing a notepad I wrote the letters in order and read over it time and time again with the two girls looking at the map with unrivaled interest.

"Let's see; 'FNID EHT PALCE WRHEE TREHE ERETS DOHAWS DAN HEID EHT OTPS WHREE I OCEN SAW RIEDUB.'"

"That sounds like you fell in a toilet, had it flushed, and tried to say something to someone," Brianna said chuckling while looking at the trails described on the map.

"Actually," I said. "It's easy to decipher."

"What are _you_ smoking?" Cassandra asked following the trails marked on the map.

"It's based on a principle that words scrambled but with the first and last letter still in place that you can still read it as though it were spelled correctly."

"I still can't make heads or tails about it," Brianna said looking at the inscription at the top.

"It's like a paraphrase of the principle, in other words it's a scramble game. 'FNID EHT PALCE WRHEE TREHE ERETS DOHAWS DAN HEID EHT OTPS WHREE I OCEN SAW RIEDUB' could mean, 'Find the place where three trees shadow and hide the top where I once was buried,'" I explained as the three looked at the back of the map and ran out a few moments later. "Maybe I should've kept my big trap shut."

Looking at the bottom of the map I found the name of the probable artist of the map; John Ferro. Looking through my books I came across the name John Ferro and simply shut the book after reading the article inside the encyclopedia and walked out the door still thinking about the person with a grudge on Cassandra for their map.

"_Well, given what I know I now know everything there is to know about this case and I know the identity of the person, the final trick is to get to Brianna and Cassandra before they get to her first,"_ I thought while walking nonchalantly outside the dorm building. _"Next is that clue. From what it suggests it leads to the grave of John Ferro, a famous jewel thief who was killed thirty years ago and then buried underneath three trees that at one point during the day would converge to form a section in the middle. According to legend he buried his last bit of spoils in the spot where he decided he would be buried. But if the culprit knows where they're going, he'll use them to get information that they have to find the rest of his missing treasure."_

Reaching the hill where he was supposedly buried where a small mound of dirt lied between three tree stumps I looked at one of the stumps, dusted it off with my hand, and sat on it with my head propped up against my hand.

"_The way I see it, as much a spaz as she is, Umbreon would figure it out as to where the clue is leading. Either that or she'll see me up here and get the message," _I thought.

I waited for almost an hour when I saw Brianna and Cassandra exhausted while walking up the hill where I was with my smug smile greeting them.

"Shut up," Brianna said pointing at me.

"So is the treasure here?" Cassandra asked hopeful.

"Sure, twenty years ago," I said standing up from the stump.

"What!" three voices exclaimed.

From behind a neighboring tree an old man with a white beard reaching to the bottom of his neck, a business suit, and a balding head.

"So you're behind all this, not just the tree," I said jokingly.

"Wait, who is this?" Cassandra asked.

"This is a man who killed John Ferro for his treasure," I explained.

"My name is Henry Harrison," the man. "I'm on the board of directors at the school district building. I killed Ferro for his crimes and then learned that he hid a treasure somewhere ten years after I killed him, but I could never figure out how this old grave could be the spot."

"The trees were cut down twenty years ago, ten years after he was killed, but even then they weren't there," I explained catching Brianna writing notes down in her notepad. "Twenty five years ago Ferro's son, a teacher here, dug up the gems and took them to the museum to make up for his father's sins. That's why he rewrote the map to say where he was 'once' buried. By saying that he insinuates that the jewels are no longer there for anyone who wants to profit from his father's death."

"You're right," the man said hanging his head down. "I lost my chance and instead endangered the lives of people who never should've been involved."

"So I take you'll turn yourself in?" I asked.

"Not likely!" the man said lunging himself towards me with hands ready to try to strangle me.

About to reach his hands on my neck the man was bashed in the stomach by Brianna who left a large amount after images of herself and her now shining earrings as she charged the man.

"What in the world?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a common move known by many Pokémon called Quick Attack," I explained. "A move that almost branched to the many elements in the Pokémon world. It increases a Pokémon's speed level to the appropriate level in which it can attack before an opponent. Umbreon here is notorious for using that on her friends."

"I could take offense to that, you know," Brianna said clapping her hands.

"I'll make a note of that," I said walking back to the dorm rooms. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's almost noon and I'd like to get a bit of sleep today."

* * *

><p>The next morning I woke up to Cassandra knocking on my door and then shoving a newspaper in my face with my picture on the front page. The headlines read, "SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICER CRACKS CASE OF THIRTY YEAR OLD MURDER AND RECENT ATTACKS ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS."<p>

"That girl is dead," I said reading the article.

"I don't know," Cassandra said pointing at the bottom of the article. "Read that."

"Hmm?" I said as I read the bottom of the article and smiled.

"…at first, the idea of writing an article on a person I used to know personally repulsed me as it would anyone trying to stay professional, but upon hearing him explain the finer points of this case I found the feeling of repulsion disappear into feelings of an impressed individual. From what I know about Itzal, he's a sucker for those fortune cookie sayings so I found one in a book from his dorm room during something that he doesn't admit to be an 'interview,' 'A discovery isn't something new, but a thought that brings about knowledge.'"

"Well, it was nice to meet another of my kind," I said leaving the room. "But I must say she certainly knows how to annoy the heck out of someone."

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played by alicelouise'x

* * *

><p>Chapter three complete. I've now introduced three of my sixteen OCs (this includes Duskull). At this time I would like to open up the opportunity to the people who have submitted OCs to submit one more (meaning the limit is two per person, which means I have somebody in mind to make sure they don't submit more than the two they have already sent me, which I mean no offense to them) to help with my current numbers. Please help if you can help. Also, thank you for UmbreonBrianna, she's going to be a definite major character, and I hope you don't mind a few tweaks that I added.

Chapter four preview: After meeting several of his Pokémon companions Duskull volunteers to join Cassandra as a student ambassadors with Umbreon following after them as an investigative journalist. While in their first destination they meet another Pokémon who is a real expert on travelling in all kinds of terrain. Next time: Traveling with Humans.


	5. Travelling with Humans

Here's the fourth chapter of my Pokémon Gijinka story. As per any of my story forewords I have accumulated twenty three OCs for use so I'm almost at half, and people have already expressed an insane amount of interest in this story and I thank you for that, to be honest I wasn't sure if a lot of people will like it. Also for those of you who still wish to submit an OC, be it your first or second, I hope to see what you have planned for me, but I must ask this one small favor, look through the different reviews and see what people have already submitted that way I don't have to send a message asking them to change it up because I know how hard people work on this. My younger brother has sent me two and it took him about an hour to work out the finer points of his second OC.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Travelling with Humans<p>

It was just after I read Umbreon's newspaper article that I was given this opportunity. Maybe a little context is in order here, I'm assuming. For the past month I have been living in this private school as a security guard who doubles as a detective, but I also have my own secret agenda; to find the other members of my kind. Problem is there were forty nine other Pokémon along with me that were sent to this world. Chances are they didn't all end up on one of the smallest continents on this planet, but I can't just take time off to look for them now can I? Well, given this opportunity extended to me, I can.

You all know my friend and annoyance Cassandra, right? Well she's been chosen randomly to be a student ambassador to several different functions around the world and she chose me to be her guardian while on the trip, at first I thought, "What are you smoking? I can barely stand being in the same room as you." But given that she's the more profound, but logical, thinker between the two of us she brought up the valid point that at the same time I could be looking for the other Pokémon sent here.

Reluctantly I packed all my things which entailed my overcoat, mask, cloak, gloves, book, and a small laptop and cell phone Cassandra gave me. The night before we would leave I tossed and turned in my bed in a cold sweat. I gasped myself awake and looked out my window with eyes with no emotion for a split second.

I picked up my cell phone and quickly dialed the number 765-3666 and waited for the ring to cease and to hear a voice on the other side. Rubbing my face free of the sweat I heard a tired voice answer.

"This is master chef Kazan, what's your poison?" a voice on the other side asked.

"Is that what a chef should be asking?" I asked in response.

"Duskull? What do you want?" Quilava asked as I stood up in my room.

"How are you at interpreting dreams?" I asked.

"Not good, maybe you should talk to your school's janitor," he said on the other line.

"Forget it, the idea of letting that Drowzee pick my brain gives me a queasy feeling," I said.

"Well, it's your only option because I'm hanging up," Quilava said as I heard the dial tone shortly after.

"I hate Drowzee," I said under my breath as I walked out of my room and down to the school building.

The day I was chosen to be Cassandra's guardian the school hired a new janitor named Id, who is another one of the Pokémon, and a Drowzee at that. From what I know about him he's a nice guy, but just plain creepy. He reminds of those circus clowns with the perma-smiles. Not to mention he talks like a fortune cookie, more so than me, and I've got a book all about them.

I knocked on the janitorial office door and heard a cockney accent "'Ello?" from the other side. I sighed with frustration and walked in to find Drowzee indeed. He appears to be about the same age as Umbreon so about twenty, somewhat short and portly, halfway closed brown eyes, the small smile I find creepy, wearing a yellow jumpsuit with brown pant legs, a balding head, and a small pair of glasses hanging on to his large nose.

"What can I do for you, govnor?" he asked leaning over in his chair to face me more closely.

"Two things; stop trying to be friendly with me, and I need you to interpret a dream," I said sitting down in a chair he pushed towards me.

"I'm listening," he said relaxing in his seat.

"Fine," I said disdainfully. "I walking down the streets of some remote city, people on all sides of me, and from a distance, I can't see it, but I can feel it, a person looking at me. I feel him getting closer or maybe it's me getting closer I don't know, but when I reach the crossroads I find everyone has disappeared except for three people; Cassandra, another person with strange tattoos, and the figure from before. He looks at me with red glowing eyes, a knife in hand, and my mask in another. He brings the knife above his head and smashes my mask with the blade. As I watch it disintegrate I fall to my knees with Cassandra looking at me helpless as the figure raises his knife above her. The final person with the tattoos runs towards her and is stabbed in the back, but shows no pain in his eyes instead he shoots me a crossed look and fights the man off and disappears into the shadows of the alleyway. That's when I wake up."

"Duskull," the man said tapping his fingers together. "Your mask is known as an Enabler, it allows you to use your powers, Umbreon uses her earrings, Quilava uses his hair, and I myself use my glasses. That man in your dream, the one with tattoos, he would those to use his power. The man aside from Cassandra is no one person. It's a combination of all the people who wish the two of you ill will. The man who saved her is someone you will meet to help you, but has a narrow view of you as a person."

"Then what do I do?" I asked.

"Oy, I'm just a janitor, something you need to figure out yourself," he said turning back in his seat as I left the room and shook my head.

* * *

><p>The next morning Cassandra rode to the airport in Umbreon's car supplied by the newspaper company as I watched the giant mechanical giants fly through the skies with their giant noise ripping at the wind. Cassandra looked at me and giggled slightly.<p>

"Don't you have anything like that in your world?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I always saw flying as a way to express yourself," I said propping my head on hand while looking out the window. "It's why I envy flying Pokémon."

Umbreon parked the car and filed the two of us outside and followed us to the customs which made me slightly suspicious.

"Why are you still following us?" I asked turning to look at her.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I'm coming with you."

I stood there in silence for several seconds and then walked into a storage room left unlocked and shut the door behind me. Umbreon counted down on her fingers from five and when she reached one a large frustrated scream sounded from the room for several seconds when I came out and straightened my clothes.

"I'm okay," I said walking back to the two of them when the intercom made a large sound when turning on.

"PLEASE IF WE COULD AVOID ALL SUDDEN OUTBURSTS OF RAGE OR KEEP THEM TO A MINIMUM WE WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT, THANK YOU."

"Just my luck," I said walking past customs with my head hanging down low. "So what's our first destination?"

"Chicago, Illinois," Cassandra said looking at a brochure given to her from the school.

"Alright then," I said writing in a small composition book the first destination we were going to along with a number one right below it on the first section of lines.

"And we're off!" Umbreon said cheerfully as she made the three pose for a picture.

"_This trip'll probably kill me before those two do,"_ I thought boarding the plane.

Given that I slept through most of the flight I didn't realize that all kinds of things happened while it was going on; in-flight movies, complementary peanuts, and all kinds of other things. I promised myself that next time I would stay awake, but I digress. The plane touched down on the pavement with an abrupt stop that rocked me and Umbreon all about the interior.

"Next time," she said panting. "We wear those cables they call seatbelts."

"Agreed," I said.

* * *

><p>After grabbing our luggage we walked outside to downtown Chicago and found ourselves in the thick of evening traffic while in a rental car Umbreon secured. Once we reached the hotel I was given my own room conjoining the two girls' room which upon entering I found it to be about twice the size of my room back at the school.<p>

"I could get used to this," I said jumping onto the bed with one of feet propped on the other. "The only thing I have to do now is find more of my kind. We'll be Chicago for the entire week at which point we'll leave for France for a meeting with other European student ambassadors, then Australia, and then finally Japan. That last destination is the one I'd like most to see; they say that that's where our legends come from."

While looking out the window I heard a knock at my door with Cassandra and Umbreon on the other side.

"Want to go to dinner?" Cassandra asked.

"Why not?" I said following the two of them down the hall.

While on the streets I looked at all the people walking on both sides of us as they watched me as well. When the three of us reached a Chinese restaurant someone placed their hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find a group of men with bandanas over their faces looking at me with crazed eyes.

"Hey pal," one of them said. "What do you think you're doing in our territory?"

"I beg your pardon?" I asked.

"Hey! Get a load of the Brit here," another said. "He don't know that eye patches aren't allowed here."

"What's wrong with eye patches?" I asked.

"They belong to a rival gang," a final voice with a Brooklyn accent said from above the restaurant. "In this section of town two gangs constantly fight for control of the surrounding areas; one hides their faces with bandanas, and the other wear eye patches."

Looking up I saw a figure about my height if not taller with a muscular build focused in his legs, with bleached hair reaching to the middle of his back, bluish-green eyes, dark red sweat pants partly concealing his black tennis shoes, a red t-shirt ending above the elbow with a set of flamed tattoos starting from the wrist and ending at the elbow, a red baseball cap, and a green backpack strapped to him.

"What the heck?" the leader of the gang asked.

"My thoughts exactly," I said as the figure jumped from the roof and landed perfectly on his feet between all the members of the gang.

Upon reaching the ground he placed both hands on the ground and spun his legs around kicking all members of the gang.

"_Seriously, I need to take karate,"_ I thought watching the man's kicking technique.

After about ten seconds the man stood up regularly and clapped his hands free of the dust when he looked at us with confused looks on our faces.

"Sorry, 'bout that," he said scratching his back. "Call it habit."

"Blaziken?" I asked.

"Beg pardon?" he asked.

"I can't think of anyone else with that kind of jumping and kicking power," I reasoned with him trying to find a way out of my logic.

"Fine, I give," he said. "I'm the Blaziken Arceus sent here, and based on who I'm talking to you three are the same."

"Two out of three," Cassandra said holding up two fingers. "It's just Duskull and Umbreon," she said introducing the two of us. "I'm just a human."

"Umbreon you blabber mouth," Blaziken said looking at the girl with loop earrings who looked back and forth trying to defend herself.

"No, Duskull told me," Cassandra said pointing at me.

"…D'aah, I don't believe you," he said taking off his bag. "The Duskull who would question brushing his teeth told someone about our secret without first questioning the consequences or bringing about a question for a reason why he should let said person live? _That_ Duskull?"

"Exactly," I said walking into the restaurant. "Table for four," I said to the man waiting on us.

"Wait four?" Cassandra asked.

"We need to talk," I said looking at Blaziken.

After being seated at a large table in a private booth I stood across from Blaziken who seemed much more relaxed than I was since coming here, to this world I mean, but I must say that the ambience of the gong right behind me made me nervous.

"What're you doing in Chicago?" I asked.

"I'm doing a movie shoot here," he said pulling a webcam from his backpack. "Since I came here I started doing this point of view kind of video where I go to different cities and film my motions from my point of view. I think their called parkour videos. So far I've been to NYC where I ended up at, Philadelphia, and DC. Fair warning, that president guy doesn't appreciate you walking through the yard at the White House."

"Noted," I said. "You always were a drifter weren't you?"

"What can I say? The more things change the more they stay the same," Blaziken said as the food we had ordered had just came.

As we began our meal I saw Cassandra looking at Blaziken with a look that was about as curious as when she first met me. I smirked at her as we finished our meal and walked back outside when we said goodbye to Blaziken who strapped on a pair of inline skates and set up his webcam and went off into the night with his path lit by a light attached to his cap.

"Interesting guy," Cassandra said.

"You should've seen him in our world," Umbreon said walking back to the car.

Upon reaching the car Umbreon saw it had a large scratch across the passenger side door.

"Well, there goes our security deposit," I said hopping inside the front seat.

"Who did this?" Umbreon asked angrily.

"My guess is someone that thought it was funny," Cassandra said obviously.

"_Could it be just a harmless prank, but if I know how the mind of some people work it's that gang of thugs,"_ I thought as we drove back to the hotel.

* * *

><p>Back in the hotel room I turned on my laptop and searched for Blaziken and came across one of his videos.<p>

"Flash Fyre, huh?" I said contemplating. "And I thought Kazan was pushing it with the weird name. Man, that's some great movements. Normally I'd expect it to be all bumpy, but it just goes to show you that he's a Blaziken. But those tattoos, they were the same as the one in my dream just yesterday. There's no denying it, something's going to happen involving him, but it must have something to with that gang as well."

I dialed up Kazan on my cell phone and heard his voice within the first few seconds of the phone ringing.

"What's up, you ask for it, I serve it," he said on the other end of the line.

"Well, it still needs work, but it's better than what you said last night," I said. "I need information on Blaziken."

"You met Flash?" he asked.

"You've the videos too, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, good stuff, perfect for a drifter," Quilava said as I heard him stirring at ingredients. "Well, Blaziken's a hard egg to crack, no pun intended. When he came by Newbark Town when I was a Cyndaquil he never seemed to pay much attention to other people, but he was always so laid back and never seemed mad about anything. He just has a problem with Pokémon that won't fight; especially when necessary."

"I don't follow."

"Well, it's very simple; Blaziken doesn't show respect to anyone who doesn't follow their instincts to fight to protect the people they care about."

I sighed out of disappointment, hung up, and fell into my bed in a heap.

"_So that's why he scowled at me,"_ I thought. _"In my life I've found it better to run away than fight, but Blaziken, I've never once heard of anyone of those Pokémon backing down from a fight. He lives his life based on a whim, but I live by knowledge. I need to make an ally out of him, but that entails at least one of us changing our ideology. Not likely._

"_Wait, I'm getting off topic. Why would those gang members come after us after a simple confrontation? See, this is why I need Cassie to walk me through these situations. But the real question is how far are they willing to go? Even if it means push comes to shove I'll have to…"_

* * *

><p>The next morning I accompanied Cassandra to a private school in the middle of Chicago. Upon entering two security guards checked her ID and let her in but when I walked up to them they grabbed me by the collar and threw me across the path onto the pavement.<p>

"Hey! What gives?" I asked.

"No, riffraff," one of the guards said. "You want to come in, take that thing off."

"No," I said straightening my jacket and then walking away.

I sighed heavily as I walked towards the school gate with people clearing to both sides of me. After reaching the outside of the gates I snapped my finger with a small fireball appearing on the tip of my index finger and let it float in the air before sending it into the school building.

"Even if they won't let me in I still have a job to do," I said to myself. _"That Will O Wisp attack with a small bit of my hair added will allow me to keep tabs on Cassie. That way she'll be safe. I know they don't let people like me in, but I can't trust them."_

Walking through downtown Chicago I found that I became a social pariah from my eye patch. I shook my head in disappointment when I saw another person with an eye patch over his left eye. He turned to face me and saw my patch and walked up to me with a welcoming, but evil smile.

"Where you from friend?" he asked.

"You tell me," I said with my arms crossed.

"Ah, from the British Isles," he said.

"More or less."

"Can I interest you in joining a group of people who appreciate the finer points of your accessory?" he asked making notice of his eye patch.

"Sorry, but no," I said walking the other direction.

Looking in front of me I found myself surrounded by an entire menagerie of young men in eye patches.

"_I'm_ sorry, but it's not an option," he said snapping his fingers as the group jumped me.

A pulled my hood up with my mask falling over my face when I disappeared. The group dissipated and noticed I was gone. They looked down the street and saw me leaning against a building with my mask on and showing them my boredom of the situation.

"Get him!" the leader said with the rest of the gang yelling while running towards me.

I smiled and disappeared into a shadow and moved several feet away in the same instant and continued to do say until I felt myself running into something.

"Can't stay out of trouble can you?" a voice asked in a Brooklyn accent.

"Comes with the eye patch," I said passing through Blaziken who kicked the ground and jumped up landing next to the group and kicked them all back into a wall.

Blaziken walked up to me afterwards and smacked my head, "You could've taken them all out in one shot," he said walking away.

"What's the use in fighting if there's no reason?" I asked making him stop.

"What?"

"Think about through my perspective; unless there's an actual valid reason to fight then there shouldn't be one. Fighting is only an option that I take if it's the last possible option."

"I guess that makes sense, but you have to admit that not fighting when other people start makes you look pathetic," he said defending himself.

"Point taken, but who is the bigger man; the one able to fight or the one able to say 'no?'" I asked

"You sound like a self-help book," he said chuckling. "But you're right. I still prefer to fight, but I could take that into consideration."

"I'm not asking you to change in your methods, but be more conscious of other's methods," I said smiling as I walked back to the school only to find the two security guards out cold.

"Blaziken!" I shouted as he came back to my voice quickly on his skates. "They're unconscious, I'd say by a hard and blunt object. These two guards are set to not let in any 'riffraff' as they put it."

"My guess is that one of the two gangs is in the school, and given that the eye patch gang is having a pleasant nap in the alleyway I figure it's those bandana wearing delinquents," Blaziken reasoned.

"More than likely," I said running into the school and then placing my index finger over my eye. "Show to me the sight from my flame."

I stopped in the middle of the hall and closed my opened eye as I began looking through the world from my fireball's vision. Given it had been instructed to stay with Cassandra I assumed the situation was bad.

"How does it look?" Blaziken asked.

"Like a Brooklyn Dodgers v. Seattle Mariners game," I said basing my analogy off of sports stats I had read last night.

"That bad, huh?" he asked as I nodded.

"The gang has them all bound and gagged in the teacher's room. This is like a special meeting for the student ambassadors so we got some upper crust snobs in there," I explained. "And there's Cassie. The trick is we have to get in there and make sure none of those snooty rich kids figure us out."

"We could always lure out the enemy," Blaziken said as a small blacked out light above instantly flickered back on.

"And I know how to do it," I said. "Man your battle stations."

Based on my fireball's vision the gang grabbed Cassie by her arm and began to shake her back and forth for information on both Blaziken and I. One of the gang members took off her gag and pointed a knife directly at her neck. Based on reading their lips they said, "Tell us where your protectors are hiding or we'll send you to a dark future." I'm paraphrasing because as a being that is not inherently evil I don't feel comfortable repeating what they just said.

"NOW!" I said over my cell phone as Blaziken burst through the door causing the thugs to loosen their grip on Cassandra.

I began to sway my fingers back and forth which caused the now visible fireball to attack the thug's hand and force him to drop the knife while clutching his burning hand. Blaziken rose out of the rubble left by the door with a different outfit from normal consisting of a red blazer over a yellow t-shirt, red athletic sweat pants that faded to a yellow color about halfway down the leg, and dark gray tennis shoes.

"Now to have some fun," he said cracking his knuckles when his tattoos began to glow harshly enough to be mistaken for real fire. "Fire Punch!" he yelled as his hand erupted into flames.

Punching one of the thugs in the gut Blaziken blew out the fire on his hand when the other thug charged him with the knife in his unburned hand.

"Blaze Kick!" he shouted as his foot did the same as his hand and erupted into flames.

Turning on his non-enflamed heel Blaziken struck the young man in the stomach and launched him into the wall with the other thug already knocked out cold. Blaziken stomped his foot on the ground which made his foot go out without leaving so much as a burn mark as I finished untying all the people taken hostage. Shortly after Blaziken had already left with skid marks on the floor beneath where he stood from his skates.

Back at the hotel I found myself on my couch board as heck after busting two gangs in their entirety, meeting one of my fellow Pokémon, and learning that I should never eat Chinese food.

I looked at my book and read the heading under Blaziken and read aloud at the bottom.

"…Blaziken learn martial normally when they evolve from their previous form based on kicks and punches with its legs being powerful enough to leap over a thirty story building. It is said that the Blaziken live by a solemn creed; 'He who fights only for himself is the weakest of them all.'"

"Humph," I said. "And he says _I_ sound like a self-help book."

I turned on my computer and watched another of his videos being live-casted to the internet with him walking down the streets of another city and him eagerly describing everything he saw.

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Quilava played by Bionicleguru

Drowzee played by The Helpless Romantic

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Blaziken played by ComicFan616

* * *

><p>Chapter four complete. I gotta say this one just sort of flowed out of me, since it only took me a day to do. Also, thank you for Flash Fyre he's a fun guy to work with, if not hot-tempered, no pun intended.<p>

Chapter five preview: Day two in Chicago brings about uncertainty when Cassandra and Duskull spend the day together with Umbreon convinced it's a date, but the latter two say otherwise. In other news today a strange man brings a prediction of a terrible disaster that will befall on the city. Next time: Warning with Humans.


	6. Warning with Humans

Here's chapter five of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. As of my writing this specific chapter I have half of my total OCs, but it's still not what I need before I can close the submissions so I though why not set a time limit? If I don't have fifteen more OCs made by people who have not sent me an OC before or are sending a second because they have sent me one previously by December 1st I will allow people who have sent me the maximum number of OCs to send one more until I have fifty or more, and then I will pass my own verdict on the best of them to cap it off by 2012. Until then enjoy this next chapter.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Warning with Humans<p>

The dark room lit only by the candles lining the wall became my path as I floated down the hall. I continued down the hall when a large four legged figure stepped into my path. His dark face stared into my skull mask with eyes colder than my own.

"I know why you come here, Absol," I said trying to float past the beast.

"Then do not proceed any further," the Pokémon said in a deep voice coming into full view.

"You can only predict the future, not change it," I said continue to float by him into a pitch dark room where my scream could be heard by everyone inside the tower as it echoed throughout the tower from level to level.

"I can only warn, that much is true," Absol said walking out of the tower. "But at least try to change my own fate."

* * *

><p>Waking up with a gasp I sat up in my bed and held my left eye as it felt as though it were burning. As the pain subsided I brought my hand down and looked at the wall in front of me. I sighed and stood up and looked out the window to see the city lit by neon signs, hotel lights, hospitals, and a vast array of other buildings and homes.<p>

"I wish I had listened to him," I said sitting back in my bed not catching another wink of sleep for the night.

The morning brought the sun's ray to my eye and I looked up stiff as a statue from not moving the whole night. I heard the door being knocked to find Cassandra on the other side of the door without Brianna following after her.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind spending the day with me," she said with a hint of a blush under her eyes on her cheeks.

"I'm assuming you mean with Umbreon?" I asked putting on my overcoat.

"No, just the two of us," she answered fidgeting with her fingers. "It's probably best not to tell her."

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean," I said walking out with her. "All right, I'm going to ask you why it's not best to have Umbreon tag along."

"Because she's A; a girl, and B; much more social and able to misinterpret anything and make it sound like it makes sense," she answered as we left the hotel.

"I don't know how that can be misinterpreted, but okay," I said shrugging my shoulders following her out the hotel.

We walked beside each other on the busy streets of the Chicago weekend with Cassandra's face becoming more flushed which I tried to pass of as the cold weather. I checked my note pad with the date at the top margin; February 4th, I read. Yeah, it's probably the cold weather. However, despite by best try I couldn't let the thought that something might be wrong shake me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked looking at her reddening face.

"I guess I'm just a little nervous," she admitted. "I've never been alone with a boy like this before, but I just felt like I had to spend some more time with you."

"Why so sudden?" I asked.

"I heard what you said last night," she answered. "And I wanted to talk to you about, what life was like for you in the Pokémon world."

I stopped walking and placed my hand on my eye patch when she stopped and looked back at me. I sighed as a thousand memories filled my head at the same time as each other. Cassandra looked back to see me in my grief and grabbed my hand with her face flushing once again. As she led me further into the town something caught my eye, what it was I wasn't sure of. Unbeknownst to me Umbreon was watching us from behind a building chuckling sinisterly.

"You little fools, I'm a reporter, nothing can be hidden from me," she said under her breath. "Now to exploit everything about this little _outing_."

As she began to follow us more a figure stepped in front of her and walked towards us with a much greater speed. As we stopped at a coffee shop Cassandra sat across from em and looked nervous as she began to ask me questions about my life.

"Since I never got to ask you this were popular in the Pokémon world, at least where you came from?" she asked.

"More or less," I answered. "I lived in an area called Mt. Pyre. So far, geologically speaking, five different major areas have been discovered in our world and each one has an area relating to Mt. Pyre."

"And that would be?"

"A cemetery," I said shocking Cassandra. "Any ghost Pokémon prefers to live in an area that can breed more ghosts. I live in a region called Hoenn and the largest cemetery is in Mt. Pyre."

"So when you say 'more or less' what does that mean?"

"It means I had a reputation for being a defiant Pokémon," I answered. "My habit was to question everything. See, as a ghost type, you're technically a dead Pokémon, or some sort of spirit and all there really is to that is freaking the heck out of people and other Pokémon. But I just always had it in me to question as to why we do it. As a result the elder of our clan never really saw me as a good example."

"Elder?"

"See, in every large group of Pokémon of the same species or evolutionary line you have an elder who is the strongest of your final form. In my case that falls to a Dusknoir; Dusknoir can send people and Pokémon to the spirit realm and he would often threaten to do just that to anyone who misbehaved to an extreme. The problem was I asked him how that was possible; as spirits it's physically impossible for us to be sent to a spirit realm. As a result, he attempted that on me despite a friend's warning. When he tried to send me away to the spirit realm a curse was instead placed on my eye. At times of the night when I can subconsciously think about it my eye will feel as though it's burning," I said holding onto my eye patch. "But it only happens when my eye shifts positions in my sleep."

"So who was this friend of yours?" Cassandra asked leaning on the table as the waitress brought our drinks. When I looked up at her I saw her turn her face away with two loop earrings dangling from her ear.

As she left I looked at her again with an evil grin as I went back to look at Cassandra who seemed confused.

"My friend was a Pokémon known as Absol," I answered. "Like me, not the kind of Pokémon people want to be seen with. Absol are known to be Pokémon that arrive before a disaster; in reality they try to warn people off, but are seen as the cause."

"So you had a lot of reasons for coming here," Cassandra said summing up.

"Basically," I answered. "But I beat myself up every day for not listening to him and going in to meet my doom. If I could meet him again I'd say sorry."

"Apology accepted," a voice from behind us said. I twirled around and saw myself face-to-face with a man in his mid-twenties about, maybe a bit younger, with pale skin, a lean and muscular body, shaggy blond hair, and red eyes wearing a white t-shirt, white shorts, and black shoes.

"Absol?" I asked.

"More things change the more they stay the same," the man said holding out his hand with black fingernails.

I shook his hand and introduced Cassandra to him who simply lowered her head slightly. He did the same and then turned his eyes towards me.

"We need to talk," he said with his voice becoming colder.

"Later," I said turning back to face Cassandra. "I already have a prior appointment."

Absol simply slumped into his chair and nodded saying "Fine," under his breath. Umbreon watching in the distance chuckled to herself still dressed as the waitress when a man yelled at her to bring him his order. She sighed and hunched her back over and followed through with her "job" until we left and she hurried out of the café.

Outside Cassandra looked as though she was still thinking about what had happened at the café as she looked at her feet with blank eyes while deep in thought.

"Absol's all business," I said breaking her train of thought. "He always has been despite how he's been treated throughout his life. Did you know that he once was chased by an entire village when it was destroyed by an avalanche?"

"What did he do after that?" she asked.

"Simple, he allowed himself to become the fall guy. He took the blame for it even though he's just someone who warns and not a bringer or preventer," I explained.

"So what do you think he wants?" Cassandra asked as we came up to a movie theater.

"Knowing Absol, any number of things, but probably chief of them is you," I said stopping right beside her.

"Me?" she asked.

"Well, given you're the only human who knows about us being here it tends to make you a topic of interest," I explained as we entered the theater. "The only thing he ever seems to want to talk about is the future, never the past. To him, what is in the past should remain in the past."

"A good philosophy if there was ever was one," Cassandra said as we each paid for our own tickets.

As we left the ticket counter Umbreon quickly followed and bought a ticket from the counter when the ticket courier looked at her confused.

"Something wrong?" Umbreon asked.

"No, but would you like to buy one for the gentleman behind you?" the cashier asked. "You two are together aren't you?"

Turning around Umbreon almost yelped as she saw Absol behind her who bent over and averted his gaze on my back with cold eyes.

"I will pay for both tickets," he said pulling out a large sum of money from his wallet and leading Umbreon behind us but from a reasonable distance.

Inside the darkened theater room Cassandra looked around the room and picked out two seats in the middle when I grabbed her shoulder.

"Might I suggest the back?" I asked shifting my gaze to my peripheral vision out of the corner of my eye.

"Sure, why not?" she said in agreement as we both sat in the middle of the row.

While watching the movie which, to me, was pure drivel I rested my head on my hand and looked at Cassandra who watched the movie like much of the other female audience; with anticipation. In the front row were only two people, one being a young girl with her earrings being painfully obvious to the eye and a man wearing a white capitano hat with a black feather sticking from it. He stretched and revealed his white fingerless gloves to the audience and cracked his neck.

"_What're you up to?"_ I thought looking down at him.

* * *

><p>After the movie finished Cassandra was shedding tears as the rest of the female audience did the same. Wiping her face with a handkerchief she breathed out and led me out the theater and turned around to face me with a large smile.<p>

"Thanks for a great day," she said cheerfully. "I feel like you feel better about a lot of things."

"Maybe," I admitted looking at the roof. "But there're still a few loose ends to tie up for the day."

I jumped onto the roof and called down to Cassandra upon reaching the top, "Just go back to the hotel, I'll be back in a while. Umbreon should be able to help you from behind the door."

Umbreon jolted after hearing name and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment as she came out from the door and chuckled nervously.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked. "How was your _date_?"

"It wasn't a date," Cassandra said blushing.

"Sure it wasn't," Umbreon said patting her back. "Tell me all about your _date_."

"It wasn't a date," Cassandra reiterated growing redder in the face as Umbreon laughed at her.

* * *

><p>As I ran across the top of buildings I kept wracking my brain as to why he would be so blatant in public. Was it a direct challenge? Was it a style of mocking? Or does he just not care anymore?<p>

As I jumped across the rooftops with my overcoat blowing in the wind I stopped on top of a book store with Absol leaning against a water tower in a long sleeved white shirt, and white slacks instead of the clothes I saw him in earlier on the roof bringing his hat down over his eyes.

"All right, what gives?" I asked.

"How could you let her know?" he asked quietly.

"What? Cassandra?" I asked.

"Yes, her!" Absol said angrily. "Do you just not care anymore?"

"I could ask the same of you," I said beginning to circle the roof.

"She should not be a part of this world," he said. "The world of Pokémon is no place for a frail girl like her."

"How can you say that after seeing that she genuinely cares for us?" I asked as he began to circle the roof as well.

"Regardless of her compassion why did you not you erase her memory?" he asked.

"She brought up valid points to allow her to keep her memory," I explained.

"Do not give me that kind of excuse," he said. "You could have easily learned anything about this world from another Pokémon like Umbreon. There is another reason you let her keep those memories, and you will not leave until it is revealed."

"Fine," I said holding out my hands as my mask fell onto my head and two Shadow Ball attacks appeared in both palms.

Grabbing his feather Absol simply waited for me to make the first move. I flicked my Shadow Ball at him which travelled at a dangerous speed as he simply sliced it in half. I saw him clutching the feather from his hat and three cyclones around his body.

"Razor Wind," he said under his breath. "You and I are very much alike in this regard. As Pokémon in this world we all need enablers to use our powers. These enablers give us certain qualities. Your mask and my feather are items which cannot be reproduced as the mask is made from a material harder than bone and the feather is, in this world, from a very exotic bird. Because of this valuable enabler we are gifted to be able to use our attacks without openly saying them making us ideal for stealth, but now I wonder if you even care now about Arceus and the rest of us."

"I care enough that I don't openly curse him," I said twirling my wrist and another Shadow Ball appearing. "But I'm not against the rest of you so much that I would truly betray all of you."

"And yet you have," Absol said holding out his hand as it became engulfed in a dark shadow. "You betrayed us the second you allowed that girl to keep that memory. For that, you will pay," he said charging me.

As I released the Shadow Ball from my hand he ducked under it and punched me in the gut. I choked slightly from the impact and fell to the ground on my knees clutching me stomach while my eye shined a dull red.

"Sucker Punch always strikes first," he explained. "No matter how fast you become, I can be faster. However, you have that capacity if you would just let yourself go and reach your true potential."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said standing up and conjuring six fireballs around me body and then hurling them at Absol.

As he dodged each one he reappeared behind and placed the feather on the side of my mask. "I mean that you have the capacity right now to become a Dusclops, even a Dusknoir if you so wish it. You came to this world with a calculated level of 33, in the last month or so you have gained enough power to evolve into your next stage, but you are suppressing it so that you are unable to advance. You may very well be in your 40th level percentile. How close am I?"

"You couldn't be farther from the mark," I said with my eye shifting from my left side to my right staring at him. "I'm in the 50th level percentile."

"In one month?" he asked not believing.

"Every night," I started. "Since I discovered my power source I've been training, but every time I was about to change form I locked it away. I don't know how I can face the rest of you knowing that I was willing to change after just recently coming here."

"You have always been weak in that regard," he said lowering the feather. "But you have never been stronger in your beliefs since coming here, Duskull. But that still will not save you," he said bringing the feather above his head as it sharpened in a shadow to look like a knife.

"_Night Slash, huh?"_ I thought. _"Sorry, Absol, but I win."_

Just before he brought the Night Slash attack down on me a blast of energy shot across the roof of the building blasting him into the small water tower on top. I panted as my eye stopped glowing and I took off my mask as I walked over to him as he panted from exhaustion.

"How did you? And so quickly?" he asked.

"As of level 49 a Duskull can learn Future Sight," I answered as his eyes widened. "It only took a few minutes and my victory was already decided."

"You never cease to amaze me, Duskull," he said sitting up and placing the feather back in his hat. "But I have to ask you a question; why do you want to go back? With everything that had ever happened to you, why go back?"

"Because home to me will be a place I can see myself as I truly am," I said walking away.

"Wait," Absol said looking at me with dimming eyes. "There is more. As a Pokémon who predicts dire omens please hear me out on at least this one. In your time with Cassandra you will find yourself upon a great betrayal that will test the very friendship you now hold dear. I have told this to Umbreon, consult with her."

"What're going to do?" I asked turning around with my hands in my pockets and my mask on my head.

"Get back to work," he answered. "I work at the bookstore just below us. It is a simple life, but I love it nonetheless."

"Well, until we meet again, I trust your vision, and I hope it doesn't come to that," I said disappearing into the shadows.

"Good luck Duskull," Absol said looking out into the Chicago scenery. "For what it's worth, 'The strongest man is the one who chooses compassion over violence.'"

* * *

><p>I reappeared a moment later in my hotel room when I saw Umbreon and Cassandra sitting on my bed waiting for me. I shuddered while Umbreon looked at me with an evil grin and Cassandra with a defeated look on her face.<p>

"_This does not bode well,"_ I thought as Umbreon pulled out her notepad.

"Tell me everything," she said.

"I'd rather not," I said bolting out of my room with her following me with a creepy smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played Alicelouise'x

Absol played by Raimaru13

* * *

><p>Chapter five complete. Well, that was fun. At this time I would like to reveal to all of you my plan for this story; after they go through Australia they will go to Japan for the first major arc. The arcs I have planned up until now are the following; Japan, Turning Back, and the Queen's Summit.<p>

Chapter six preview: After arriving in France Duskull finds that Quilava has already left, but left behind something to be learned about him from another Pokémon. Next time: Honest with Humans.


	7. Honest with Humans

Here's chapter six of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. At last check I had a total of thirty four OCs meaning I have about nineteen days to get six more before it opens up to the rest of you. So now the group is going back to Europe for a meeting for the student ambassadors which include Cassandra and this time we'll meet another OC and learn about the past of another Pokémon.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Honest with Humans<p>

As I finished packing my bag and zipped it up I looked at my watch and found the time to be nine AM. Our flight wouldn't leave for another three hours and the airport is within walking distance so I figured why not go out one more time. As I walked the streets of Chicago I received looks of scorn and shunning from the other people. At one time someone even threw a large portion of food at me. Wiping the burrito sauce of my face I stopped in front of Absol's bookstore and walked in.

"Welcome," Absol said as I walked in. "Oh, so it is you."

"Hello to you too," I said looking through the shelves. "So how's your back doing, _Catastrophe_?" I asked referring to him by his pseudo name.

"A little better, no thanks to you," he answered. "So are you leaving today?"

"Yep," I said. "At about noon, we're going to France for some fancy meeting for Cassandra's student ambassador thing."

"Did you not tell me that Quilava lives there?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was planning to spend some time while I was there," I said flipping through the pages of a book. "The only problem is that he seems to have a better relationship with Arceus than the rest of us. It's hard to talk to him about my opinions without running the risk he'll blab to Arceus."

"Indeed," Absol agreed. "Quilava has always been close to Arceus, but I have never understood as to why that is."

"Maybe it's a chef thing," I said taking a book from the shelf and bringing to the Absol to pay for. "Tell you what though; if I didn't know any better I'd say Quilava had made a deal with Arceus."

"What do you mean by deal?" Absol asked accepting my money.

"Well, there are numerous ways that a Pokémon can have a contract with a legendary Pokémon," I started. "But they all require that he give up something first. I don't know maybe I'll bring it up when I get to Paris."

"Well, au revoir, mes ami," Absol said while chuckling.

"It'd be _mon_ ami," I corrected. "You're referring to only one friend and not a group."

"Whatever," he said sitting back in his chair. "Have fun, Duskull."

"Thank you," I said leaving in the same instant."

* * *

><p>While on the plane Cassandra and Umbreon were on both sides of me as I read my book and the two looked at me expectantly.<p>

"Can I help you?" I asked looking annoyed.

"You snuck out and bought something didn't you?" Umbreon asked.

"What was your first hint?" I asked looking down at her.

"You could've invited us with you," Cassandra said from the other side.

"Not likely," I said going back to my book. "I told you I was going out and you said 'fine,' am I not correct?"

"Yeah, but you didn't tell us you were going to Absol's bookstore," Umbreon said. "And he never gave me the chance to thank him for those movie tickets."

"Ooh, the fiend," I said with a sarcastic look on my face. "I really don't get what you're so worked up about."

The two looked at me with evil looks in their eye as a bead of sweat dropped from my forehead as I tried to read book. I shook my head as they continued to look at me with the eyes of killers until the plane landed. Remembering what happened last time I fastened my seat belt quickly and placed my book in my lap when Cassandra snatched from me and looked at the cover.

"101 Idioms and Their Meanings and Origins?" she asked looking at the cover.

"I thought why not learn the lingo of this world if I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future," I said taking the book back.

"Oh come on," Cassandra said fastening her seat belt. "You don't believe in seeing the future do you?"

"You can accept two Pokémon are sitting within reaching distance of yourself and you don't believe in psychics?" I asked.

"Some stuff is weird," she said. "Some of it's hogwash."

"We'll see," I said as the plane landed and Umbreon flew from her seat to the ceiling and then the floor. "I thought we agreed to wear seatbelts this time."

"Shut up," she said in a staccato fashion.

* * *

><p>As we left the airport Cassandra and Umbreon went into a state of complete delight after viewing the Paris scenery. I sighed as I followed them as they found the most joy in looking at the French designer shops, fragrance stores, and listening to the street performers with accordions which I would've loved to have silenced. After the two ran into a shop to gawk over clothes that were worth more than the basic rent on an apartment I sat down on a bench when I looked over my shoulder to find a large group of people gathered around a young girl, about the same age as me, in a state of meditation.<p>

"What do you see in my future, wise one?" a woman asked.

"Your future contains dangers that you will find enjoyable," the girl said as the woman squealed in delight. "What about you, young man?" she asked looking at me as I walked up to her. Looking down at her I saw that she was about as tall as Cassandra, maybe a bit shorter, light green colored hair reaching down to her shoulders and one long bang reaching down past her nose mostly covered by a stereotypical purple witch's hat, magenta eyes, two pink hair accessories traveling across her head length-wise, a violet t-shirt, black pants, and black buckle shoes over long white socks.

"Tell me where my friend is," I said with Quilava in mind.

"I see," the girl said closing her eyes. "I see your friend, but not in Paris, but in a distant area."

"Meaning?" I asked.

"He ain't here," she said plainly.

"Itzal!" I heard Cassandra shout as the two came out with bags in their hands from the store when they saw me talking with the girl. "Who's this?"

"Just a roadside psychic," I said seemingly offending the girl.

"Well, in that case," Cassandra said handing me her bags which felt like twenty pound weights that I struggled to carry. "Tell me something."

"Ah, a non-believer," the girl said closing her eyes and clasping Cassandra's palm. "You are hiding something not only to your friends, but to yourself as well. You will find yourself forced to make a decision that will make you betray one of two things, both very important to you."

"_That's what Absol said,"_ I thought._ "A coincidence? But if this girl is who I think it is I fear for the future."_

* * *

><p>Cassandra pulled her hand away and walked away with me in tow with an angry face staring back at the girl who stopped to talk with Umbreon pointing at the two of us. Pulling on my hand all the way to the hotel Cassandra ground her teeth from anger when she finally let me go when she checked the three of us in. After checking in she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the elevator.<p>

"So…" I started. "How you doing?"

"What does she think she's talking about?" Cassandra asked angrily. "Me? Betray one of my friends? Ha, that's a laugh."

"I'm not going to comment for fear of my life," I said turning to face the door.

"Yeah, you do that?" she said as the elevator doors open with her walking out of and slamming the door behind her.

I chuckled nervously as I walked to the adjoining room and opened the door when I turned to face the room when I saw the girl in the room. About to yelp she appeared behind me and placed her hand over my mouth as I finally exhaled in relaxation.

"Well, that explains something," I said turning to face her only to find her back in a chair in the room. "That's getting annoying."

She shrugged her shoulders and stood up as a faint glow in her hair bands dissipated. "She really doesn't like me, does she?"

"Unlike most people…and Pokémon, Cassandra is rooted in her beliefs," I explained. "So a street psychic in Paris, huh? How's that going for you?"

"Actually pretty good," she answered. "But I was telling the truth, Quilava isn't here. He left about two days ago. To where I don't know."

"So, Kirlia, is there any chance you can apologize to Cassandra?" I asked identifying the girl.

"Please, Hanna," she said referring to herself by her pseudo name. "And not likely; you don't have to be Psychic to know that."

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically. "But please. She becomes impossible while angry."

"Nothing I can do about it," she said as a fireball flew past her.

"I think there is," I said with my mask on and my index finger point out.

"Alright, no biggie, I'll do it," she said following me to Cassandra's room.

I knocked on it with Cassandra saying "come in." at the sound of this I pushed _Hanna_ through the door as it opened with Cassandra looking down at her with angry eyes. I closed the door in an instant and listened intently to what was happening. While I was listening Umbreon walked up the stairs and tapped me on the shoulder. Turning around in a whirl I looked at her who placed her hands on her hips and pulled me back into my own room.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" I asked. "I'm trying to find out if Kirlia's finally get what for."

"Are you ever going to let that go?" Umbreon asked.

"She put me in a cave I was unable to phase through with a pack of extremely territorial Mightyena," I reminded her. "I had bite marks on my mask for months."

"What is this going to do?" she asked.

"Two things; sweet revenge, and to help both of them," I said.

"What does that mean?"

"Cassandra needs to learn to be more accepting of people regardless of their profession, and Kirlia needs to learn that speaking her mind isn't always appropriate."

"You're a sneak, you know that?" Umbreon said shaking her head.

I smiled evilly as I heard the door being knocked on. I opened it to find Cassandra and Kirlia in the hall with confident smiles. I snapped my fingers in defeat with me saying "shoot." Umbreon looked down at me with a smug smile while I sulked in the corner.

"You two make up?" Umbreon asked.

"More or less," Kirlia said walking past me. "As a consolation for your question, ask another for free."

"I paid for the first one?" I asked.

"Yep," she said tossing a few coins in the air.

"You're a con artist you know that?" I asked. "My question is how is Quilava speaking to Arceus?"

Kirlia placed both hands in front of her as her hair bands shined with a faint glow that extended a strand of psychic power to all of our heads allowing us to share her memories.

"This memory is one that I've been showed by Quilava. This is his life from his time as a Quilava," Kirlia explained as the four of us were transported to another world in the sky.

Cassandra gripped onto my neck out of fear even though he weren't falling. I looked at her as she chuckled nervously letting me go.

"Quilava lived his life in fear," Kirlia explained taking us down to the ground level.

Cassandra opened her eyes to find Kirlia, myself, and Umbreon all back in our Pokémon forms. She yelped at seeing how I used to look and then looked at the other two Pokémon and nearly fainted.

"You knew we were Pokémon," Umbreon reminded.

"Forgive me if I find this a new sensation," Cassandra said.

"Getting back to the subject," Kirlia said. "Quilava was born with a defect. He was unable to produce any fire. For years as a Cyndaquil he relied on being able to fight with only normal attacks such as Swift, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen, but he was unable to use any fire attacks. For this he was shunned by his village and was seen as a Pokémon unfit to be passed as an elder hopeful. He was exiled from his village.

"For weeks he travelled across a desert when he collapsed and looked up at the desert sun. He turned his back to it and continued to walk on."

As Kirlia told us about Quilava's past the images ran across our faces with pain and sadness. Cassandra began to tear and rubbed her eyes to keep it from showing. As we watched Quilava continue to walk we saw his face filled with nothing but despair.

"The night after he collapsed he reached the end of the desert with more injuries than most Pokémon receive in their pre-captured life. Trying with all his might he still was unable to produce any fire. He exerted so much energy he broke one of his legs just trying to walk."

Seeing the images of Quilava's attempts to produce fire became almost painful to watch as I saw Cassandra falling to her knees trying to comfort the crippled Pokémon. As she placed her hand on him it passed right through him which made her feel helpless.

"But, obviously he was able to produce fire eventually," I said remembering.

"The answer to that is the price Quilava had to pay," Kirlia answered. "As he healed his broken leg a trainer found Quilava and found him as an easy catch. Throwing the PokéBall at him the trainer's feet. The trainer tried to reach for Quilava with his bare hands when he simply shot another Swift that exploded in the trainers face forcing him to retreat.

"The trainer told a doctor about what happened and instead of helping the trainer the doctor ran out to the desert border and took the Quilava to the center to be treated. While being treated the doctor concluded it would be impossible for him to ever learn how to use fire attacks. She said that the only way Quilava would ever be able to use fire is if it were to evolve into a Typhlosion. But at his current rate, even that seemed impossible. Upon hearing this Quilava ran away from the center and walked to a cliff's edge."

Cassandra was already in tears as she saw Quilava getting a running start over the cliff's edge.

"He jumped," Kirlia said as we saw the image of Quilava falling to his death. "But, he was foiled in his attempted suicide by a very powerful entity."

My eye widened after seeing the form of the rainbow colored feathers.

"Ho-oh, the Pokémon of the rainbow, saved Quilava and when asked why he said that it was because of two reasons; one Arceus wanted to see him and two because no fire type should have to go through a life as hard as his and not succeed at least once in his life. Meeting with Arceus Quilava kept his head bowed and never looked him in the eye."

Seeing the form of Arceus the rage began bubbling inside me but I began to calm myself as I saw Cassandra smiling out of relief. My rage towards the king of Pokémon still remained but I held it inside.

"Arceus told Quilava to face him and that he would allow him to use fire on one condition," Kirlia said. "And this is the final answer to your question. Quilava's price for his fire was his evolution."

"He didn't," Umbreon exclaimed.

"He accepted the Everstone," Kirlia said.

"What's an Everstone?" Cassandra asked.

"In the world of Pokémon, certain Pokémon are able to evolve by use of special stones, but there is a deterrent stone that can prevent any Pokémon from ever evolving and that is the Everstone. It is said that those who use it will forever be shunned by society for thinking of their own personal gain and not what the evolution can do for others," I answered.

"Exactly," Kirlia said as the rounded stone reached Quilava. Upon reaching Quilava's body a white membrane covered his body that dissipated. "After accepting the Everstone Ho-oh blasted him with his Sacred Fire attack. Feeling the burn travel through his body Quilava cried out in pain and then emerged from the fire unburned."

"The Sacred Fire attack burned the core of his fire tank and allowed him the use of fire," Umbreon reasoned.

"Exactly," I agreed. "But for a price like his ability to evolve into a more powerful Pokémon. Is it really worth it?"

"You will think so, after you learn of this," Kirlia said. "Years later Quilava, being a traveler, never being in the same place for two long, Quilava learned that the Everstone allowed him to speak directly to Arceus through telepathy. From this knowledge Quilava learned that the village he was born in was being attacked by rogue trainers. Returning as fast as he could Quilava found the elder wounded and the rest of the village in a mass panic. He fought off the humans trying to catch every Pokémon in sight using all the fire he could muster. After they retreated Quilava ran from the village despite the Pokémon's pleas for him to stay. When he explained what he did to save them he nonchalantly explained that he could never belong with another group, ever again. So he became the first envoy for Arceus and gladly came to the world we live in now."

Cassandra was now in tears as we returned to reality and we turned back into our human forms. I sighed out of disappointment as Kirlia looked at Cassandra who broke down onto her knees.

"It is said the strongest is the one who is unable to lie about their emotions," Kirlia said teleporting out of the hotel room. "A final note, Quilava will be back tomorrow morning before you're meeting."

"How did you know why we came here?" Umbreon asked.

"Hel-loh, psychic," she said disappearing.

* * *

><p>The next morning Quilava came off the plane and breathed in the Parisian air as he walked down the streets calmly. Stopping at his restaurant Quilava opened the door when Cassandra jumped him and latched her arms around him with tears in her eyes.<p>

"Don't try to do things by yourself, Kazan!" she shouted rubbing her forehead against his with the customers looking at her.

"Help!" he shouted gasping for air.

"Hanna told us everything," I said walking from the kitchen.

"Excuse me," Quilava said standing up. "I have to go and strangle a psychic."

"You think he'll take this well?" Umbreon asked from the bar.

"Not at all," I said in a staccato fashion.

"GET BACK HERE YOU SNEAK!" Quilava shouted chasing Kirlia back and forth down the street."I TOLD YOU THAT IN CONFIDENCE!"

"It was all too tempting though!" Kirlia shouted in defense

I shook my head with a large smile on my face. _"Well, even if I'm not getting out of here for a while, at least I know I'll never be bored. I think the saying is , 'Exciting as watching paint dry,' or something like that."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Absol played by Raimaru13

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Kirlia played by LunaHozuki666

Quilava played by Bionicleguru

* * *

><p>Chapter six complete. We all knew that Quilava's past would be interesting, but I didn't come up with that until like about an hour ago. Bionicleguru didn't give me much to go one so I used a little creative licensing. Thank you for the OC of KirliaHanna; expect to see more of her in the chapters to come. The next chapter will have two OCs introduced so get ready for some fun.

Chapter seven preview: On the way to the next destination for the students ambassadors council meetings Duskull, Umbreon, and Cassandra decide to take a day off, but that doesn't fit in with the plan of a couple of train jackers who kidnap Umbreon, Cassandra, and another Pokémon famous throughout France. Duskull and another Pokémon from across the German border race against time to find the kidnapees before they're silenced…forever. Next time: Kidnapped with Humans.


	8. Kidnapped with Humans

Here's chapter seven of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. I am still at thirty five OCs hopefully I can attract more readers and get the amount of OCs I need by the beginning of next year. Thank you all for your help in making this such a successful fanfic.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Kidnapped with Humans<p>

"ALL ABOARD!" the conductor shouted as the train whistled blew.

Running into the train car Cassandra and Umbreon pulled me by the arms into the car just as the door was closing. Panting as I was a near inch from being cut in half I looked up at the two girls who were panting in the same fashion.

"Try cutting it a little closer next, why don't you?" I asked frustrated to no end.

"Aw, don't fret about it," Umbreon said passing off my near-death experience as nothing.

"You wouldn't feel like that if you had it happen to you," I said standing up and following through the passenger car to find an empty car room. "So remind why we're here and not on a plane heading to Australia again."

"Because I _accidently_ signed us up for a flight leaving Paris in two days so I thought we should check out Germany," Cassandra said.

"I appreciate the opportunity to look more into this world's many countries, but in the past week I've already crossed the Atlantic ocean…twice," I said looking back and forth finding all the rooms full.

"Hey, Duskull, I have another question about Pokémon," Cassandra said beside me.

"A little random, but shoot," I said.

"Is it possible for Pokémon like you, and by that I mean ghosts, to feel fear or sadness?" she asked.

"Well, uh, hmm, let me see," I said stuttering. "I can't honestly answer that. As ghosts we pretty much anticipate everything and we're not shaken by much, so I can't imagine so."

"Let's go here," Umbreon suggested motioning for a room with a girl sleeping soundly inside. "Everywhere else is full."

Looking inside I saw the girl more closely she seemed to be about the same height I am but about an inch shorter, she had long light blue hair reaching down to her waist, pale skin, an athletic build, gold hoop earrings like Umbreon's, sunglasses over her eyes, a necklace hanging from her neck with a diamond at the end that reminded of ice, a black shirt with a silver belt, a black skirt with leggings, and black thigh high boots.

As we stepped inside the car the girl immediately stood up and punched me across the face causing me to fall over. Taking off her glasses we could see her icy blue eyes that seemed angry.

"Don't think you can rob me," the girl said taking a fighting stance. "I've been trained in karate."

"We're not robbers," Cassandra said. "We just need a place to sit until we stop in Munich."

"Oh, sorry," she said sticking her tongue out rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

The girl introduced herself as Diamond Lunar Wind which made me suspicious. She seemed about the same apparent age as me but her current intelligent proved to be a little less than her approximate age. The girl seemed more oblivious to most everything but obviously noticed Umbreon's icy stare which matched her own.

"You can cut this tension with a knife," I said sarcastically as the two girls were almost eye to eye and a mere few inches apart. "Do you know this Miss Diamond, Brianna?"

"Know her?" Umbreon asked. "She's a distant cousin."

"_Didn't see that coming," _I thought as the two were staring knives at each other. "Come again?"

"She my cousin from the Pokémon world," Umbreon said pointing at her.

"Y'know, I can kinda see the resemblance now that it's out in the open," Cassandra said. "I wasn't gonna say anything until you brought it up."

"Really?" I asked. "The only thing I can see that they have in common is that weird taste in jewelry."

The two girls shot me a cross look as I backed off out of fear. "Just remember, Umbreon, it was you're idea to come in this room, and in all fairness I was the one to get in the end," I said holding onto my cheek.

"Again, sorry 'bout that," Diamond said.

"So if you're Umbreon's cousin that makes you…" I said leading her into an answer.

"A Glaceon," she answered. "Calm, cool, and collected none of which the shady Umbreon can attest to."

"I dare you to say that again," Umbreon said clenching her fist.

"I sense hostility," I whispered to Cassandra who nodded in agreement.

"You know what? Why don't we just take a deep breath and start all this over?" Cassandra said trying to calm them down. "Now why do you two hate each other's guts?"

"Ah, how subtle," I said sitting back in my seat.

"Glaceon here is the princess of an area inhabited by ice Pokémon only," Umbreon explained. "Until her subjects mustered up the brain power to start bully her which made her run away when the opportunity presented itself instead of facing the problems head-on."

"Oh, get real, you're just as shallow," Glaceon said in retaliation. "You left that world at the first chance."

Umbreon then slapped her across the cheek and looked down at her with dead eyes. Walking out the room we sat in silence when I smiled looking up and out the door to find Umbreon just around the corner.

"Y'know, Umbreon didn't come here because she wanted to," I said.

"What?" Glaceon asked.

"You know that she has a younger sister, don't you?" I asked.

"Yeah, what about the ditz?" she asked.

"_She_ wanted to come," I said surprising both girls and I saw Umbreon react to what I said. "Her sister was naïve and wanted to come here no matter what, but when Absol visited their village he foretold of a great danger that would come upon any Pokémon evolving from the Pokémon Eevee. Out of desperation Umbreon took her place under the promise that she would return and prove Absol wrong."

"That's so sweet," Cassandra said.

"Yeah, it is," I agreed. "But I know why you came here, Glaceon. Just by how you reacted to that comment made by Umbreon. You were bullied, but you didn't run because you didn't how to deal with it. You came here to prove to your subjects that you could do something by yourself, and not rely on the help of others."

The girl in front of me blushed slightly as I smiled. She stood up and walked out the room with Cassandra following them with anticipation to see the outcome. I stretched myself out and looked out the window as we came out of a long tunnel to the scenery of Germany. I smiled as I heard the two crying over sentiments when I touched my eye.

"I wonder if I'm capable of feeling emotions like that." I said to myself. "Sadness and happiness, pain and fear, or am I only capable of feeling hurt and rage?"

I chuckled as I sat back in my seat when I heard a loud large clunking sound in the train making it come to a stop. I looked out the door with the girls looking back and forth when it suddenly started launching me back into the room and closing the door. From the engine walked three men with black masks and trench coats with guns in hand walk down the hall and saw the three girls disoriented in the hall.

"Hey, isn't that Diamond Lunar Wind?" one of them asked in a German accent.

"I believe so," another asked in a similar accent.

"How much do you think she'll bring up?" the first asked.

"Close to 100,000, at least," the third and largest man answered. "We'll take all three."

The two men shot their guns in the air frightening the passengers and grabbing the girls and carrying them out of the train. Getting back up I ran out of the room and stood in front of the men who looked.

"Put 'em down, scumbags!" I shouted as the three all pointed their guns at me and I began charging them.

All three guns were shot in unison and struck me in both arms and one leg crippling me. I screamed in pain with the men chuckling and taking the girls out of the train. I tried to follow them but I heard a car revving and then driving into the distance towards Munich. Cringing in pain I crawled back to the room looking through my bags and found my jacket and tore the mask from it and placed it on my face. Letting out a deep breath of air the gunshot wounds healed within seconds but with the pain still remaining. Staying huddled in the corner until the train stopped I went over the incident over and over and remembered only one thing; the horrified expression on all three of their faces when they were being taken away.

"Never again…" I said picking up all our bags.

* * *

><p>Stopping in a hotel in Munich I paid for a one night stay and placed the bags in the room I stretched my back and turned on the TV trying to find a news station cover of the incident. Flipping through the channels I found only one station covering the story.<p>

"Earlier today a train transporting hundred of wealthy conglomerates was attacked by a wanted trio of kidnappers who have kidnapped famous fashion model Diamond Lunar Wind along with two citizens of the British Isles. No deaths were reported today, but according to eyewitness reports a young boy with the kidnapees was shot three times and has not been seen since. Supposedly in critical condition if you have any knowledge on his whereabouts please contact the proper specialists immediately. Also, at the scene was a note left by the kidnappers as to their location and demands.

_By fire and ice we will appear, let the convergence stand as our cover or we will end the moon's breeze. For the exchange of 150,000 unmarked Euros we will return the model and her friends._

"Those who have information on its meaning please contact the authorities immediately."

Turning off the TV I looked out the window when a knock sounded loudly on the door as I cautiously turned around.

"Who's there?" I asked from the outside.

"Flower delivery," a voice said behind the door.

"You probably have the wrong address," I said staying a good ten feet from the door.

"Not at all, Itzal," the voice said.

I rushed to the door to find a young girl standing in the doorway. She seemed much younger than me, but a bit older than Quilava with dark green hair tied in a braid reaching to her elbows, tanned skin, red eyes, she also wore a light green shirt with blue jeans and white tennis shoes. She looked up me with a confident smile and a basket of roses on her arm.

"Looks like my lucky day," I said. "Two in one day."

"I never said I was a Pokémon," she said.

"Actually you did," I said moving to the back of the room. "First was when you said my name. The only people who know my name are people who I go to school with and other Pokémon who come and go. Second was what you just said. You said, 'I never said I was a Pokémon,' but I had never said the word Pokémon in our conversation and you weren't on the train when we were attacked by those three kidnappers at any time. The only logically explanation…you're a Pokémon."

"You really are a gumshoe," the girl said walking in and placing the roses on the table in the room. "Quilava was right about you."

"That guy never knows how to shut his mouth," I said.

"Just one more thing," she said. "Was it really just what I said or was it something else?"

"Actually it was two things; first was your eye color. Since coming here I've found that such a color is unnatural for most humans except through artificial means. Second, it was the strong aroma you have around you. Pokémon of the grass element almost always have a distinct aroma of expensive and unique perfumes. That particular one belongs to the Chikorita evolutionary family, but given your approximate age, I'd say a Bayleef."

"Bravo, I'm impressed," the girl said sitting down.

"Now it's my turn to ask questions, why are you here?" I asked.

"It's simple, I may have information about where they took those girls," Bayleef said making me turn around.

"Say again?" I asked.

"I have a clue as to where those thugs took your friends," Bayleef said again. "Which I'll be willing to tell you if you pay for the roses."

Shuffling through my pocket I pulled out several Euros and dropped them next to the basket which gave Bayleef a satisfactory look on her face at.

"The three men came by my flower shop the other day," Bayleef said counting the money. "They gave me this note and told me to take it to their fourth member. I recognized who they were when one of them raised his arm and a tattoo of a flaming skull was revealed on his massive arm. I didn't know what to do so I waited until this morning when a woman came in asking about a note that somebody may have left. I knocked her out with Energy Ball and left her for the police. I've known that Diamond is a Glaceon and when I heard that she was taken with two girls from the British Isles I thought you must be in town. I searched through hotels and only this one had anyone of your name in their residences so here I am."

"The note," I said holding out my hand. "And don't try anything funny," I said holding out my other hand as a Shadow Ball appeared in my palm.

"You don't have to be so snippy," Bayleef said. "It's in the basket."

Placing each of the flowers into another carrier I found the note at the bottom in a plastic bag. Pulling out the note I found it written in German. Turning on my laptop I went to an internet site where I typed in the note's inscription.

"Let's see," I said as the translation sprung up. "You will find us at the cross between history, knowledge, nature, and music. Well that helps…not."

"They have a habit of speaking in riddles," Bayleef said.

"That should be easy enough, but now we need to find where the rendezvous point is gonna be," I said looking at my notepad with the ransom letter copied onto it.

"Why? If we catch them why not just let the police find them?"

"Because if that happens the police don't know about this information and then both of us will be arrested for withholding information," I answered. "They find the rendezvous with the thugs and then we go home scot-free."

"So where're they going?" she asked.

"Okay, I haven't figured that out yet," I answered. "But what I do know is that it has to be somewhere that the light can be reflected so they can make their getaway."

"And you know that how?" Bayleef asked looking at me expectantly.

"Fire and ice are two extremes talked about in the ransom letter," I explained. "These can refer to the two extremes of day and night, or sun and moon. They chose today to kidnap one of the wealthy people on the train because of a solar eclipse. The convergence is the time when the sun is completely covered by the moon and if light is reflected well enough it can temporarily blind the officers allowing them to make their getaway."

"What about the moon's breeze will be ended," Bayleef asked looking at the note and pointing to that stanza.

"It's a reference to Glaceon's pseudonym, Diamond Lunar Wind. They used synonyms for her middle and last name to indicate that they would kill the hostages if they don't follow these instructions. They have no intention of letting the hostages live."

"What!"

"They figure that no one is smart enough to figure this out and they just want the money," I answered. "They'll kill them the second they have the money. And Glaceon'll be the first to go."

"Not if we find them first," Bayleef said in reassurance.

"Who's to say they won't kill them once we confront them?" I asked.

"Do you have to be so depressive!" Bayleef asked standing up and grabbing my shirt collar and then seeing my eye as dead as possible.

"I can still see it," I said as she let me go. "Their faces. They were scared, but it wasn't just for their own lives, but for mine when I got shot. They cared more about me than themselves. It was because I made that big speech about why those two left our world. They cared more about the safety or the person next to them that they would've blocked a bullet and never think about the consequences. I won't let them die."

"That's more like it," Bayleef said patting my back. "So where're they?"

"The cross between history, knowledge, nature and music. That indicates that they're hiding at a place that is an intersection between four points that are within eyesight of each other. The order indicates that the symbols of history and knowledge are facing each other and nature and music are facing each other as well. If the symbols stand for monuments then it would be based on a museum, university, garden or park, and some kind of concert hall. Anything like that?"

"Well," Bayleef contemplated. "There's the school of philosophy and the Bavarian museum. Those two can be connected by a line across a large park area. If it were anything else it would be the opera house and the large garden a few miles north."

"I need a map of Munich," I said as I pulled an atlas from my bag. "Okay so the garden is here," I said circling the spot.

"The school is right here," Bayleef said circling a spot on the map. "The opera house here and the museum is here," she said circling two more spots.

I drew two lines between the four spots connecting the museum to the school of philosophy and then the garden and the opera house. After circling the cross Bayleef gasped out of fear.

"Problem?" I asked.

"That's the flower shop I work at," she answered.

"That explains why they came to you," I said. "With that flower shop right there it's the perfect cover. But we still have to figure out the rendezvous point. At that time we'll call the police and go to the hideout and take 'em out."

"Sounds good," Bayleef said. "So it needs to be a place where they can reflect the sun's rays during a solar eclipse, huh?"

"That's the idea, and it would have to be within an eight minute travelling distance of a car capable of 0-60 KPH in ten seconds, due to the eclipse only lasting for eight minutes," I explained. "Which means they'd have to be within 20 kilometers from the flower shop," I said drawing a circling to represent 20 kilometers based on the map legend.

"How do you know they can go 0-60 in ten seconds?" Bayleef asked.

"I heard their car engine revving for ten seconds before they went off and based on the skid marks left at the scene on the news they went approximately 60 KPH, anymore questions?" I asked.

"Yeah, is there any way they can make this plan work and be out in the middle of nowhere at the same time?"

"What?"

"Based on that line you drew they're nowhere even close to an office building, fun house where they can steal mirrors," Bayleef noted tracing the line with her finger.

"That can't be right," I said. _"Unless they do that again."_ I stood up and grabbed my mask from my bag along with my cloak. "I know how they can do it without being near any kind of civilization."

After placing the mask on my face I ran out of the room with Bayleef quickly following me.

* * *

><p>At the flower shop seemingly in the middle of nowhere in an underground basement the three men were seated on packing boxes and chuckling as they kept their guns pointed at the three hostages.<p>

"What did I do to deserve this?" Umbreon asked looking up.

"Oh quit your belly aching," Glaceon said. "Or it'll be you that goes first."

"Comforting," Umbreon said. "Next time why don't talk about how they throw us off a cliff, or put us in cement shoes, or make us sleep with the fishes."

"You're thinking about the Italian mafia," Cassandra said with a nervous smile. "And just keep in mind Duskull will come to help us."

"Are you forgetting he was shot right in front of us?" Umbreon asked. "Unless he got to his mask in time _he's_ gonna be sleeping with the fishes."

"Again, Italian mafia," Cassandra said.

The three turned around to face the kidnappers as their guns cocked into a ready position.

"All right, it's time to get ready for the finale," the leader said as he pointed the gun at Glaceon's face.

"Don't shoot her!" Umbreon shouted as she was forced down to the ground by one of the other thugs.

"We'll still collect, but this girl's corpse will be what they find," the leader said about to pull the trigger.

"The lady said not to shoot her, didn't she," I said from behind the wall. "If you were gentlemen you would do well to listen."

"Who's there!" the leader shouted waving the gun through the air.

"Where is something that is neither above, on either side, or behind you? Or better yet where is you see through your glasses?" I asked.

"In front of me?" the man said placing the gun out before him. "But that would make you…"

"A ghost," I said reappearing in front of him.

A held out my hand as a Shadow Ball shout out from it and struck the man's hand knocking the gun out of his hand.

"Call me Yoma," I said disappearing again and then reappearing behind the thug holding Umbreon down.

Conjuring a fireball I burned the man's back and untied Umbreon who rushed towards the third thug and struck him in the gut with a Quick Attack. While the two of us fought the thugs Bayleef snuck down into the basement and untied Glaceon and Cassandra with the two looking at her confused.

"Who're you?" Glaceon asked.

"Call me Lily," she said. "I'm a friend. Sweet Scent…" she said relaxingly as she secreted a refreshing scent from her breath.

The scent reached the thugs noses making them relax to the point where they put their guns down when Glaceon placed her hand on her necklace.

Opening her eyes harshly Glaceon cast her free hand in front of her and said under her breath, "Blizzard." After speaking a large blizzard was cast from her hand and froze two of the thugs and the bullets they had just shot. The bullets hit the ground in front of Cassandra who sighed out of relief when an arm shot around her neck and a gun barrel placed against her head.

"Tell me how you knew where we were?" the leader asked me as he circled the room with Cassandra tight in his grip.

"Wouldn't you rather hear how I knew you make your getaway?" I asked circling the room as he did as my eye shined a spectral red. "You already knew that someone could figure it out that you were referring to the eclipse happening today. But if you were to use that as your cover for your getaway you would need some kind of reflective item to blind the officers. But based on proximity to this area you had no kind of resources to do so."

"You're getting there."

"So the trick is how can you make people look directly at a solar eclipse, right?"

"Exactly," the leader agreed.

"Well it's all based on what you did on the train," I explained. "You use your guns to make your getaway. What if you were to rig a giant firework and feed off the human idiosyncrasy to look up at any noise that emanates from anywhere?"

"You're good."

"You make the firework explode when the eclipse begins and at that time they look up, are blinded, you leave the dead hostages, take the money, and run, but you had to make it in a place where a firework wouldn't be conspicuous. So you placed it at the nearby park where sound and light shows are nothing if not expected. It was ingenious and foolproof had your hideout not been found, but now that we're here you lose automatically."

"Maybe, but I'll blow this girl's head off if you don't do what I say," the leader said cocking the gun.

"I don't have to worry about that," I said stopping as he did. "Because I won the second we started talking."

"What?" the leader exclaimed as a large blast shot at him from nowhere.

"Future Sight," I said as all the thugs had been successfully defeated.

Cassandra fell to the ground in shock as the man about to kill him was lying on the ground unconscious next to her. After taking off my mask I held out my hand and helped her up and helped her walk out of the shop.

After reaching the outside we were met with a large number of reporters and police officers.

"Okay, what gives?" I asked.

"I called them," Bayleef said. "Why make them figure out where the kidnappers'll be when we just have them come to us?"

"I told you before they could count this as withholding information," I said disappearing with Cassandra.

* * *

><p>After returning to the hotel I grabbed my bags and left for another room when I heard the TV turn on with the news being aired live. Cassandra sat down and watched the news with her arms folded as the news reporters began interviewing Glaceon.<p>

"Was this a frightening experience for you?"

"Not as much as you would think I would be," Glaceon answered. "Because I know that I can take care of myself, but also that I have three other friends who were willing to fight for me too; my cousin, a good friend who owns this shop, and a very special boy. I'd like to also personally thank all these people right now."

"She's good at what she does," Cassandra said.

"What?" I asked.

"She's hiding her emotion," she explained. "She was scared out of her mind. I had to tell her that you would come to comfort her."

"Some people are better at controlling emotions than others," I said about to walk out.

"What about you?"

"Huh?" I asked.

"Were you scared when you knew that I was about to be killed?" she asked turning around. "Were you scared when you saw us being taken away by those thugs?"

I stayed silent for a few seconds and then walked out as she sighed out of disappointment.

"…Yes…" I said walking out fully.

Cassandra smiled as I walked into my room and looked at the wall as though she were looking straight at me.

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Glaceon played by sarah94306

Bayleef played by Kitsunelover300

* * *

><p>Chapter seven complete. I gotta say this was a bit easier to write, but it helps that I'm home sick today from school. I blame my school's band teacher, but at the same time I blame myself for signing up to be in the pit orchestra and those evening rehearsals.<p>

Chapter eight preview; after arriving in Australia Duskull gets separated from the group and is found by a couple street performers who give him the grand tour of Sydney, but at the same time Duskull's curse begins affecting his eye to the extreme turning him into the equivalent of a demon Pokémon. Can these two Pokémon stop him from going on a rampage or will it take a bit more? Next time: Entertaining with Humans.


	9. Entertaining with Humans

Here's chapter eight of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. We're now getting very close to the second major arc I like to call the Japan arc for obvious reasons. At that point there will be massive OC-ness, so prepare yourself (sinister laugh). Until then enjoy these next two chapters taking place in the land down under where I'll introduce at most three or four OCs.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Entertaining with Humans<p>

A blast of fire shot across my vision. I widened my eye in fear and tried to escape from the path of the blaze. As I tried to leave the area my path was blocked by a large figure who reached out at me with his massive hands. Bringing me up to his eye my eye stared into his as he turned me around to stare into the destruction before me.

"And this is why you don't belong," the figure said in a deep voice. "I have told this to you repeatedly, Duskull."

"Let me go, Dusknoir!" I shouted blasting him with a Shadow Ball.

As the large ghost Pokémon held his eye in pain I looked up at his pain and fled. Looking back at the blaze I shouted out of frustration as a large blast emerged from my small body.

Screaming in my sleep I sat up in an instant panting trying to catch my breath as I slowly began to relax. Running into my room Cassandra, Umbreon, and Glaceon all saw me in a cold sweat and a glowing eye. Looking at the clock I found my vision blurred to the point I could barely see the time on the digital clock.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked with her voice coming closer.

"Don't come closer!" I shouted holding my eye in pain as a Will O Wisp.

"What do we do with him?" Cassandra asked backing off.

"It's simple," Umbreon said nodding towards Glaceon. "We take him out."

Speeding towards me Umbreon tackled me in the gut with a Faint Attack while Glaceon gripped onto her necklace diamond and quietly said, "Ice Beam." The beam of frozen water attacked me and knocked me onto my back. Looking out at the two girls who had just attacked me the shapes that were blurred to me began to dim into shadows as I blacked out.

* * *

><p>As the morning came into full view I woke up on the plane ride still feeling the pain from last night in my mid-section. I stayed silent as I looked back and forth at Umbreon and Cassandra who were already fast asleep on the ride to Sydney. Placing my hand over me eye I tilted my head down towards the floor of the plane. For the remainder of the flight I stayed in a stationary location even as the plane began to land. Umbreon exhaled in a relaxed manner and woke up slowly placing the seat belt around her waist. As the buckle was about to lock the plane touched down on the ground and launched her into the seat in front of her with a frustrated look on her face. Cassandra stretched and yawned as she fully woke up and looked over at me as I still remained still.<p>

"Next time," Umbreon said getting up. "We're taking a boat."

"Can't," Cassandra said as Umbreon slowly turned her head to look at her. "The only kind of travel we've been cleared for is air travel."

"I'm going to die," Umbreon said falling back into her seat.

* * *

><p>Walking through the streets of Sydney I walked into the hotel and changed into my shorts and took off my jacket. I walked out just as the girls were also doing so with Umbreon changed into a pair of dark denim shorts with a black tank top with a red print reading "Black Veil Braid", underneath a thin black blazer; and Cassandra with a pair of short flowered shorts and a white shirt with pink sleeves.<p>

As we left the hotel I still never changed in my expression when Umbreon grabbed me from behind and pulled on the collar of my shirt.

"Okay, what gives!" she shouted angrily. "Tell us now!"

"First you answer my questions," I said pushing her away. "Why didn't you run? Why was Glaceon with you? What did I look like?"

"Glaceon came to get her stuff and we began to talking so she decided to stay with us," Cassandra explained answering my second question.

"The only thing that was off was the fact that your eye was glowing a harsh red color," Umbreon said answering the third question. "And as for that first one, I can't say."

"You would've been better off just keeping away," I said walking ahead. "When I get like that, it's best to stay away."

As I walked off the two girls began to follow me when a long trail of people and tourists came between us. Not looking back I continued to walk until I reached a large center square area. I looked back and found that neither of the two were following me anymore and I sighed with relief. I walked along the streets where I saw multiple street performers mostly playing music or dancing when one particular young girl caught my eye. She was young, maybe younger than Quilava, and definitely much shorter. She had dirty blond hair tied in pigtails, brown eyes, and a slight tan to her skin; she wore a colorful and baggy shirt and pair of pants, both with the same design of polka dots, shoes that curled upward and a hat that reminded me of the court jesters I saw in a lot of the movies I watched back in London.

The girl in question was juggling, seven rocks, each one the exact same size. And between each rotation would increase the amount of height that each rock would attain. I noticed one of the rocks was flattened on one end as she began to catch the rocks one by one until each hand had three rocks in them and the flattened rock balanced perfectly on her head. I clapped along with many other people watching as they dropped a large amount of money into a hat the girl had placed near her feet.

"Thank you!" the girl said. "And for my next act, I will defy death by juggling these," she said shuffling through her bag. "Stun guns!"

The audience gasped as she turned on all three and began juggling never losing focus as she threw all three back into the air and caught two in one hand and that last in her opposite hand. The audience cheered as the girl took another bow and collected more money before placing it in her bag. I walked up to her as she turned around taking off the costume directly into a sleeveless white shirt and a pair of green shorts that were hidden underneath her costume.

"That was amazing I must say," I said as she turned around.

"Thank you," the girl said cheerfully turning around to face me and then coming into shock after seeing my face. "What are, how did you, why are you here?"

"Please do you think I wanted to run into you again?" I asked sitting down on an overlook. "But you don't have to be so hostile."

"You seriously know how to hold onto a grudge," the girl said packing her supplies and placing the stun guns on the overlook bench next to me.

"That's my next question," I said picking one of the stun guns up. "Where in the heck did you get these?"

"Long story, but you probably don't want your fingerprints on that," she explained as I dropped it immediately. "I was planning to return them to the police and say I _found _them," she said never letting her smile falter.

"How many times you shock yourself with these things?" I asked pointing at them.

"Hmm, twenty five," she said plainly.

"Even for a Pikachu you gotta admit that's over the top," I said whispering in her ear.

"I never told you I was a Pikachu now did I?" she asked placing her hat in her bags.

"No, but the way you reacted to my face tells it all," I said. "You know I've been looking to get even with you after you tricked me into going into that nest of Seviper. Remind me again why I let you trick me into that."

"I told you that I had lost my Light Ball and you, being the Good Samaritan you are, helped me without hesitation, and came out with my Light Ball along with a few scratches," the girl explained. "Also, I'd prefer you to call me Pepe in public."

"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that," I said nodding my head as the girl who I had identified as a Pikachu followed me along the walkway.

"So you never answered my question as to why you're here," she said with a singsong tone.

"I'm here as the guardian to a student ambassador from London to whom I've about the existence of Pokémon in this world along with the Umbreon sent here as well," I explained. "So you the only one around here."

"Not exactly," Pikachu said pointing down to another person, this one a young man, who began strumming on the strings of his guitar slowly. "This is the Cofagrigus."

Looking down at the boy I saw that he seemed about as tall as Umbreon with shaggy black hair reaching over his ears, was very thin, with his eyes two different colors, one green and one red. Looking down I saw him wearing a long sleeve light blue shirt and a pair of black gloves with black knee-length shorts and yellow sneakers. The boy's eyes were almost dead in emotion as he looked up at me as my own eye widened in fear.

"_One of _them_?" _I thought to myself. _"Could this day get any worse?"_

The boy held out his hand with a gentle smile and looked at me until I returned the favor.

"Nice to finally meet another ghost type," he said. "Can you imagine spending everyday with this girl?" he said averting his gaze to Pikachu.

"Trust me, I've been there," I said releasing my hand from his grip.

"Something's troubling you," Cofagrigus said with a sigh strumming on his guitar strings. "My guess is that it haunts your dreams and tends to be about you ill-fated past."

"Maybe," I said sitting down next to him. "Why? Do you think you can help me?"

"What do you think I am? A Hypno?" he asked sarcastically. "I can only figure these things out, I can't remedy the situation. But I may have a possible answer to your problem."

"And that is…" I started.

"Don't dwell on it," he finished plainly. "The past is the past; the only thing you have to do is learn from it that way it doesn't repeat itself. That's all this fortune cookie has for you, mate."

"Anyway, can you help me find my way to the coastline? That's where the rest of my party is going, and I just realized _they _had my hotel card key," I said shuffling through my pockets.

"Perhaps you could be more specific," Pikachu said looking over the edge of the viewing platform. "Australia's borders are nothing but ocean and beach. It's a swimmer's paradise."

"Yeah, well I'm not a swimmer," I said. "Besides, I'm not exactly on good terms with the two of them right now. Something happened while we were in Germany and let's just say it didn't go over well."

"Well what do they look like?" Pikachu said looking out at the nearest coast.

"One has long blond hair and is wearing a pair of flowered shorts, and the other has black hair wearing a black blazer," I said describing the two of them.

"Does the brunette have loop earrings, and does her friend have a things for pink _and _flowers?" she asked looking further out.

"Yeah, why?" I asked walking over to her.

"Because they're right over there," she answered plainly pointing down at the beach.

I looked over at the spot where she was pointing and found both Cassandra and Umbreon walking along the coastline watching the other tourists and locals swimming and surfing. My eye began to soften as I saw both of them were smiling even after my outburst. As I was about to leave Cofagrigus placed his hand on my shoulder and looked at me with stern eyes.

"Don't go," he said. "Trust me; it'll do no one good if you do."

"I won't listen to you," I said pushing my shoulder away from him. "Especially you."

My eye hardened as I looked at him. I walked from the area and waved good bye to Pikachu who did the same as Cofagrigus kept the same stern look on his eyes as before and shook his head in disapproval. Turning from them I walked away and began making my way to the coastline to meet up with Cassandra and Umbreon and then apologize when I found myself in another shopping district.

"Geez, how many shopping areas does one city need?" I asked myself trying to walk by the customers all crammed in one location.

As I made it out a group of girls were looking at me with disdainful faces and began whispering amongst themselves.

"What's with the patch?"

"Maybe he's trying to act cool."

"Or maybe he's stuck in the pirate age."

"Either way, he doesn't belong here."

"_What?"_ I thought to myself. _"Don't belong? How can I not belong in so many places? First my own world, then Chicago, now even Sydney. Is there any place I can feel at home?"_

"_Of course there isn't,"_ a voice said in my head.

I turned my head to a store window when I saw the form of Dusknoir in it. Recoiling back slightly I turned my face away from him and began walking back through the streets.

"_I've told you that for as long as I can remember,"_ he said inside my head. _"Heck, you're lucky someone like Cofagrigus, Pikachu, Umbreon, or that girlfriend of yours can even stand being in the same country as you."_

"_Shut-up,"_ I said to him through telepathy.

"_Oh, sure, I'll shut-up. But you can never deny my being correct on what should be obvious. You know that as long as you're you, you can never belong anywhere. You have no right to even live. And that's why I wanted to get rid of you, but you fought it turning you into a monster."_

"_I'm no monster."_

"_Oh, you aren't?"_ he asked not believing me. _"Then why did that happen? How are you able to advance so quickly and why are you afraid of evolution?"_

"_Because I know what it will do to me," _I answered. _"It'll turn me into the tyrant that you are, and then no one will accept me. Ever again."_

"_Would it really make that much of a change?"_

"_I already told you to shut-up, and you would do well to do so."_

"_Anger is the excuse of those without a solid argument, isn't that what you once told me, Duskull?"_

"_I am not you. I will never be you despite what you did to me. And as long as you are in my head, in my life, and always a nuisance I will be able to tell it to your face. I will never be your successor!"_

"_Humph, you really think you can just walk away from me like that? Well you can't; because my power still influences you," _he said as his spectral form lifted its finger and pointed it at me through the reflection of the store window. _"Time for your true colors to shine through!"_ he shouted as a beam of light shot through the form's finger into my eye.

I fell to the ground on my knees when Pikachu saw me crippled and barely able to move. After seeing me slightly twitch in my movements she dropped her bag and ran up to me to make sure I was okay.

"Duskull! What's wrong?" she asked trying to find a problem on my body.

"Nothing…" I said with my voice reduced to a small whisper and my eye now glowing a spectral red. "Just needed a break. Would you like one too; one or two legs?"

"What's wrong with you?" Pikachu said backing up as I held out my hand.

"Like I said; nothing…" I said throwing five continuous Shadow Ball attacks at her.

Dodging four of them and then being struck in the leg by the fifth Pikachu fell to the ground and saw me walking towards her with a wicked smile on my face. Pikachu then balanced herself on her left and then thrust herself at me with electricity being charged around her body.

"Thundershock!" she shouted as a stray bolt of lightning attack my body shocking it and then temporarily paralyzing me.

With the electricity surrounding my body I simply grabbed a hold of it and crushed it in my grip with Pikachu already running from the area around the populace who had seen the scene and were confused as to what was happening. I snickered and ran inside the crowd and knocked down so many people I lost count, but for some reason I didn't care. After reaching out of the crowd I headed off Pikachu and attacked her with a quick Shadow Sneak attack. Falling against the wall Pikachu tried to escape from me but found it impossible when I shot an Ice Beam attack at her freezing her legs still. After freezing her arms still I summoned another Shadow Ball and pointed at her as she closed her eyes to make some sort of false security against the inevitable pain.

"Itzal! Stop!" I heard a voice say as Cassandra grabbed my hand. "Don't hurt this kid."

"C-Cassandra?" I asked quietly trying to remember her as my eye shined slightly harsher for a split-second.

"Yes it's me, and I'm asking you not to hurt this Pokémon," she said pointing at Pikachu.

In a hidden area Umbreon lied in wait behind me as her earrings began to glow. In a split-second she charged me with another Faint Attack when a blast of power from the side and launched her into a side building.

"You can never see it coming," I said. "Future Sight."

"Brianna!" Cassandra shouted in concern and then stepped in front of Pikachu with her arms held out.

"I never told you that she was a Pokémon. That means that someone told you about her and you were told to stall me so I can be attacked. Now move," I said. "You have no claim in this battle. She made the same mistake that you almost made last night."

"And that was?"

"Getting in my way!" I said conjuring a second Shadow Ball.

"I'm not afraid of you," Cassandra said. "Because I know that Itzal can beat this thing, whatever you are."

"I'm an improvement of him," I said lifting my hands higher about to attack the two of them.

"Run…" Pikachu said weakly as Cassandra shielded her body from the Shadow Ball.

As I threw them Cassandra clutched Pikachu and waited for the impact closing her eyes when she heard the explosions but at least a foot away from her. Opening her eyes she saw a large barrier in front of a young man with light blue shoes, black pants, and a black jacket with yellow cuffs that had a collar reaching to the boy's ears.

"So now you too, Cofagrigus," I said looking at the boy's face with a hardened eye.

"A little context would be nice," Cassandra said.

"My name is Defectus," Cofagrigus said. "I am a Pokémon called Cofagrigus. And I'm not going to idly sit by while a friend of mine is being bullied by an evil Pokémon such as you."

"I'm so scared," I said mocking him. "Bring it on!" I shouted throwing seven Shadow Balls one after the other.

Placing both of his hands together Cofagrigus' body began to become cloaked in a harsh light that nearly nullified the Shadow Balls.

"Calm Mind…" I said identifying his attack.

"Exactly," Cofagrigus said standing up. "This makes two I've used. One now, and on to protect your friend and mine. You seem to be able to manifest your attacks now with the use of your mask I have to ask why that is. Could it be you're more like what Dusknoir says you are?"

"How do you know how Dusknoir views me?" I asked holding out my hands.

"It's simple," I said. "I placed that voice in your head to show you that you have no place among decent people."

"You're no better you are the Unova Pokémon who can't even so much walk into a populated area without being forced into a fight," I said mockingly as I circled the area with him doing the same.

"True, but at least I can accept what I am," he said making a small flickering movement with his hand. "But as you are now, I can see that the chances of my victory are one of two. Either I completely decimate you now by continual attacks or you do the same and I become the victim."

"You? Attack faster than myself?" I asked in disbelief. "I'd believe seeing an Onix fly rather than that."

"Are so sure?" he asked.

"Let's find out!" I saw continually throwing Shadow Ball attacks one after the other from my hands towards him at the highest speed possible to attain given my current level.

As the attacks surrounded Cofagrigus they all impacted with him in a large explosion that blew away many of the people watching what they thought was a movie scene. As the dust settled I saw nothing there any longer. Chuckling to myself I turned around to be met by Cofagrigus' face as he stood on a metal fence post looking down at me.

"I guess we did," he said disappearing and then appearing behind me grabbing my arms and gripping them tight enough that I couldn't produce another Shadow Ball. "Welcome to my Trick Room. It makes me faster than you."

"You think this will save you for much longer?" I asked mockingly.

"Shut-up and listen," he said forcing me to the ground. "You think you aren't one of us? You are in every way. The very Pokémon you fear, the very thing you despise, the thing you want very much to rid your life of you are. You think you're special, you're no different from me," he said lifting his sleeve as my eye widened. "The only difference between is that I'm not afraid of what I am," he said as my eye was fixed on his arm that was pitch black. "That's what makes you weak," he said throwing me into the air.

Cofagrigus followed me into the sky and the shot a Shadow Ball attack at me launching me to the left. Heading me off he then attacked me with another Shadow Ball launching me downward. As I fell down from the sky I felt his hand underneath as he half closed his eyes and seemed to let go of himself as a giant Dark Pulse attacked with one of the stray shots destroying the ice binding Pikachu. My eye began to close as I fell to the ground and Cofagrigus began to walk away.

* * *

><p>I regained consciousness what I thought was a few hours later but looking at my watch I found it to be nearly two days after. On my side Cassandra was fast asleep and seemed to be wiped out as she clutched a cold rag in her hand.<p>

"_She's been taking care of me?"_ I asked myself. _"I don't deserve that. Not with what I am. Cofagrigus is right; I was just hiding myself from the cruel truth of what I am. In the Pokémon world there are several Pokémon like me and him. We are publically flogged and from that we build up a single emotion that takes over our entire body. And when that happens we become Pokémon who are capable of nothing but battle. Ever since I was attacked in my eye by Dusknoir trying to make an example of me I've been this way. We are…cursed."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nighfall00<p>

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Glaceon played by sarah94306

Pikachu played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Cofagrigus played by Umbra Fox

* * *

><p>Chapter eight complete. So now we have a plot device introduced, let me know what you think about the whole Cursed Pokémon thing, I think it works given how Cofagrigus is portrayed, but let me know what you think.<p>

Chapter nine preview: After an accident at the airport Duskull's group's flight is delayed which is just enough time for Duskull to try to run away from his problems, and try to sever his relationship with Cassandra knowing fully what he is. We'll see if Cassandra, Pikachu, Umbreon and a newcomer to the group can find with enough time to spare. Next time: Flying with Humans.


	10. Flying with Humans

Here's chapter nine of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Since there is such a high demand for updates in this story I've decided to put a major focus on it if you haven't noticed, so I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to my readers of Yu-Gi-Oh GX TNG for not updating in nearly a month, and that they can expect a longer wait until I can get some ideas on the wording for that story.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 9: Flying with Humans<p>

"_You're no different than me,"_ Cofagrigus' voice echoed in my head.

"_You can never belong anywhere,"_ Dusknoir's empty voice echoed shortly after.

My head began spinning as the voices of all the Pokémon I had ever known tell me I don't belong. I held my ears to stop the noise from reaching me to no avail as I kept hearing a word being echoes over and over again.

"_Cursed…" _said by many voices echoed in my head one after the other until it turned into white noise.

"Itzal!" I heard a voice shout as I opened my eye to find Cassandra looking at me with concerned eyes. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be fine," I lied looking away at the massive jets docked in the blacktop. "So when's our flight come in?"

"About twenty more minutes," Cassandra answered looking in the same direction.

"Good, I need a long rest after what happened," I said under my breath.

"At this rate, however, it'll probably be delayed," Umbreon said walking from the information desk. "I just checked with the attendant and they said that a test pilot is in the area and they'll have to wait until he leaves the area."

"Well that's no good," I said sitting down placing my bag in front of me.

"Cassie!" a young voice called out from the other end of the airport lounge.

Averting our gaze we found Pikachu standing in the direction of the voice as she ran up to us and grabbed Cassandra in a large hug clutching to her as though she were an older sister.

"Pepe? What are you doing here?" Cassandra asked as the Pikachu girl let go and hopped back a few steps.

"I just wanted to say goodbye and give Duskull a message from Defectus," she explained as I turned my head to her in an instant. "He said that he apologizes for his rough encounter with you a few days ago and that you shouldn't dwell on what he said, and that whatever was meant by that will be revealed in time."

"_I've had enough prophecies for one lifetime,"_ I thought with a disgruntled face.

"Hey guys!" Umbreon yelled. "The test pilot's coming in so we'll be set to board the plane in about fifteen minutes!"

"Thanks!" Cassandra yelled back as many of the other travelers began gasping at something they saw.

Looking out the window the four of us saw the test pilot's plane travelling towards the blacktop in a straight nose dive down. The travelers ran from the windows for fear of any debris as I ran to the information desk.

"Do you have a radio?" I asked almost frantically.

"Y-yes, but…" he said handing me one before I cut him off.

"What's that flight designation?" I asked in the same manner.

"006, but what are you going to do?" he asked as I turned on the radio.

"Flight #006, what do you think you're doing?" I shouted into the radio.

"I don't have any extra fuel and I can't pull up! Something's happened to my steering! I can only go left or right!" a matured male's voice said while panting. "I might be able to avert the impact to about fifty meters away from the farthest plane, but that all that's I can try!"

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.

"Maybe!" the pilot answered. "Give me some kind of marker and I can aim for that! And if you're going to do it I'd hurry! I probably have about two minutes until impact!"

"Sounds doable!" I shouted turning off the radio and then running outside.

From inside my jacket I pulled out my mask and held out my hand as a Will O Wisp attack formed inside it. Throwing the fireball from my hand I looked up to see the plane within a minute of impact. The fireball hit a nearby tree overlooking a river. Looking up the plane slightly shifted its position towards the tree when I saw a parachute being deployed. Running from the scene I reached the closest jet and hid behind it as the plane hit the tree skidding along the ground and then sank into the river. I sighed with relief as I stood up from my spot when I saw the pilot coming down on his parachute.

As he landed he took off his helmet that looked more like the head of a lizard I saw he was at least six foot four and that he had orange spiky hair with a small tint of red, blue eyes, tan skin with a strong build. He wore a cream colored shirt with an orange jacket over it, loosely fit orange pants, and orange colored boots with cream colored tips.

"Thanks a lot, bud," he said with a smile on his face that reminded me of Cassandra.

"You're welcome; now what the heck were you thinking?" I snapped.

"Just like I said something happened to my steering and kept me from pulling up and made it so I could only make left and right turns," he explained looking back at the tree that was destroyed by his plane. "Hope the flight company has insurance."

"Thank you for the sarcastic comment," I said motioning for him to come into the airport.

He went in front of me when I saw two slits in his jacket and shirt making his back slightly visible. My eye looked at him suspiciously as we entered the airport.

* * *

><p>"Itzal!" Cassandra shouted as she ran up to me with concern flooding her eyes. "Are you okay?"<p>

"I already said that I was fine," I said turning my face away from her. "What we need to do is figure out what happened to this guy's plane."

"What'd I miss?" the man said appearing behind me as a vein popped in my head.

"Did you forget what happened about five minutes ago? You know, with the big flying plane that you just crashed into the river," I reminded as I turned around to find him no longer there.

"You must be a friend of his," the man said talking to Cassandra. "Name's Phyrrus, test pilot straight out of Ottawa, Canada. Out of curiosity has something been bugging ol' Cyclops here?"

"Beg your pardon?" I asked looking at him angrily. "And cut the act. You and I both know that you're a Pokémon, right?"

"I deny everything, I believe there's something about protection against self-incrimination," he said crossing his arms looking away.

"That's America, dipstick," I said placing my hand on his back. "These two holes in your jacket are strategically placed and are completely symmetrical. The only reasons for this are if you have a compulsive need for such things, or if they are there for a reason such as to make way for two appendages that protrude from the back, such as wings. Also, given your helmet design insinuates a type of Pokémon with wings with a reptilian design. In other words…Charizard."

"But that Pokémon couldn't be so subtle as to be able to hide in this world," Umbreon defended.

"Not if he's in the place where he feels most at home and where he can be who he is without any suspicion," I explained turning my stare to Umbreon. "You're right; a Pokémon such as a Charizard is about the most obvious Pokémon in the world, and the most referenced Pokémon ever next to Pikachu for some reason or another. But being a test pilot he's never in one place for too long for anyone to make the connection."

"Wow, you're good," Phyrrus said. "He's right, I'm a Charizard, but I think it's best to keep that on the down low."

"I don't think you're going to have to worry about being in too close proximity to anyone," I said. "Just based on this airport I can't imagine you're too popular with the rest of these people."

Just as I predicted the travelers were all backed away from our group. I sighed and sat back down with my bag placed underneath my chair. Charizard walked up to me and bent over with his hands in his pockets and gave me a creepy smile with a small chuckle.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You like her don't you?" he said tilting his head over towards Cassandra.

"Why don't you have fun with this?" I suggested throwing a Will O Wisp attack in the air which Charizard followed and placed his hands inside it as relaxed as though he had just been given a massage. _"Too easy,"_ I thought. _"Just like Quilava he has a compulsive need for large amounts fire or to get near heat whenever it's around. In layman's terms, fire types are simpletons."_

As I lay back in my seat looking up at the ceiling I closed my eyes to rest for a bit when I felt a shadow come over my face. Opening my eyes I saw Pikachu's face in front of mine with her signature smile staring at my frown with no reaction coming from either of us.

"Anything wrong?" I asked as a vein began to pop in my head.

"That's what I should be asking," Pikachu said.

"Just as I told Cassandra, I'm fine," I answered standing up and beginning to walk away. "And why would you want to know if something is bothering me or not?"

"Personally I don't," Pikachu said following me. "But you're making Cassandra worried about you."

I looked up and saw Cassandra looking at me with eyes that would produce tears within seconds.

"Tell me the truth," she commanded. "What's bothering you?"

"Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with you," I said walking past her. "You never should've been there. You aren't supposed to be involved anyway."

Looking back at her I saw her tears fall to the ground as she tried to wipe them away receiving no emotion from me in any way. As I continued to walk away Charizard blocked my path, this time with the serious eyes of a caregiver.

"Apologize," he commanded.

"For what?" I asked avoiding his body as I walked away.

Charizard swung his arm towards me as I disappeared from view. I emerged from the shadow he casted and stood up straight turning to walk away from the group. Charizard and Umbreon both blocked my path standing behind one another almost as though they were ready to fight me. I simply walked with my shadow in front of me until it touched the tip of Charizard's feet and at the beginning of his own shadow.

"Sorry, but I gotta go," I said disappearing into my own shadow.

Speeding across my own shadow I reached the second shadow casted by Charizard and then Umbreon's behind his disappearing into the shadowed area in the hall.

"What just happened?" Umbreon asked as Charizard turned around to face the hallway.

"It's a simple principle," Charizard said looking down at Umbreon. "He walks up to me until the tip of his shadow touches my own behind me. Then, using Shadow Sneak, he travels through his own shadow to my own, and since my shadow casts over the tip of your own he can continue travelling to the hallway cast into complete shadow where he has the upper hand of hiding."

"I see, so in other words," Umbreon started.

"Exactly," Charizard said. "He waited for us to get in the right position for the chance to escape into a place where he can stay completely hidden."

"Then why don't we just light that place up?" Pikachu asked.

"Because he would anticipate something like that and used the almost limitless passages of shadows in order hide anywhere in this airport until our plane leaves," Cassandra answered walking up to the hall.

"The question is why," Charizard contemplated.

"My guess is because he almost killed us a few days ago," Umbreon said walking inside the darkened hall. "From what I've learned Duskull lives in the past a bit too much. He holds on to grudges and thinks that everyone else does the same."

"Looks like you finally said something right," I said from behind all of them.

"Itzal?" Cassandra said turning around only to find a fireball floating next to her face. "What in the heck?"

"Call it an instant messenger," I explained. "I can transmit my voice through this Will O Wisp attack; it's how I knew about your trouble in Chicago. Thanks to this helpful power I can make sure you don't find me before that plane takes off."

The fireball then reduced in size until it was barely visible and then attached to Cassandra's stud earring.

"Until you leave I'll make sure to keep tabs on all four of you," I said.

"Doesn't the same hold true for you?" Pikachu asked plainly as the three other people around her looked down with realization.

"She's right," Charizard admitted. "As long as you can hear us, we can hear you, right?"

"Of course, but there's only one of me, therefore I can keep my thoughts to myself unlike you have to relay your thoughts verbally for your group, and, by extension, me," I explained as my voice began to fade. "And keep in mind I can also see what you're doing, the only way you're going to get me on that plane is if I decide to."

My voice faded from Cassandra's ear as the fireball attached to her stud reduced to a faint glow.

"Okay, I don't care what the guys says, we're going to get him back here," Charizard said. "I gave him the opportunity to get away by delaying those flights so I need to help fix this."

"You're a nice guy," Umbreon said. "But nice guys finish last. We need to more than a heartfelt moment to more find this guy, and you can bet he'll play dirty. So that's what we're going to have to do."

"Maybe so, but we still need to find him first," Cassandra said leading the way. "And I don't care if we have to drag him by his mask, he's coming with us."

"For some reason I'm terrified _and_ inspired," Charizard said following after her. "We'll need to look both high and low to find him."

"I'm guessing I'm the one looking low?" Pikachu asked.

"Nope, get on my shoulders and then you'll look on the high side," Charizard said picking Pikachu up.

"Man, you really are a nice guy," Umbreon said following after the entire group.

"I've practically made a living off of it," Charizard said. "Back in Canada, when I'm not flying planes, I read to kids at a local library, and I gotta say that's where it's at. I used to be a drifter, like that Blaziken who came here, but when I saw the smiles on the kid's faces when a person like me, the kind of person who flies planes, spends time with them, it made me feel like I actually belong in a place like that. I mean why does anyone do anything? Because it makes them feel at ease. Doing things that make us smile is all that's really important in life; Pikachu performs to make people laugh, amaze them, and show them she really loves what she's doing. Umbreon, you report things to people because you love to see people fascinated by what you write. And Duskull probably does what he does to make himself smile as well."

"I disagree," I said, my voice coming from the fireball. "I don't so what I do to make myself smile, I do it so I can feel some small shred of worth to another person. Cofagrigus and I can never be happy Pokémon or people. We can never appreciate or fathom the power of a smile. We are cursed to be like that, and forever that is our life."

"Idiot," Pikachu said from atop Charizard. "I saw you smile yesterday when Cofagrigus beat you."

"That was nothing more than an emotion of insanity," I disagreed. "Happiness for me is nothing more than a distant dream."

My voice stopped from the fireball when Cassandra began to growl angrily as she grabbed the fireball in her hand and threw it across the room as it slowly floated away and attacked my head. Coming out of the wall's shadow I held my head in pain as my mask fell off. I looked up and found Cassandra looking at me with an evil glare in her eyes. I quickly stood up and grabbed my mask and began running down the halls.

"Hold it right there!" Cassandra yelled chasing after me.

"I ain't holding nothing!" I shouted back as I fitted the mask back onto my face.

Turning around to face all four of my chasers I cupped my hands one over the other and simply breathed softly into the space between them producing my Ice Beam attacked which froze the ground beneath them causing them all to trip. Taking the miniscule fireball that Cassandra threw at me off the ground I threw it to her again as it fitted perfectly onto her earring. I then looked behind me and disappeared into the shadow of a kiosk machine behind me.

"That guy really knows how to lose somebody," Charizard admitted holding his chin in thought.

"Does he really want to go off on his own?" Cassandra asked sitting on the ground with tears falling from her eyes. "Does he really hold onto the past like it's a life raft?"

"I don't think it's all that," Pikachu said jumping down off of Charizard. "I think he still wants to protect you. Why else would he keep that fireball close to you? Do you remember the other day? He stopped and said your name as he was about to attack me. He subconsciously wants to protect you, but finds himself unable to because of this fear of what he is.

"What he is?" Cassandra asked. "I remember Defectus talking about it, but I don't really understand what it all means."

"Duskull is a special breed of Pokémon, per se," Umbreon said standing up on the ice. "But I think it's best to talk it over with him, yourself."

"And how the heck are we going to do that?" Cassandra asked.

"I have a plan," Charizard said. "But first we're going to have ditch the little spark," he said pointing at the fireball.

* * *

><p>Holding onto my eye I saw the image sent to me from the fireball turn to a black and the audio on it completely cut-off. I stood up and disappeared into the wall's shadow behind me as I heard a set of footsteps jogging towards the area I was in.<p>

"Well may as well look somewhere else," Pikachu said running through the area alone as she passed by me.

"_What're you planning?"_ I asked myself as she came back around and stopped in front of me while facing the opposite direction.

"Volt Tackle…" she whispered while placing her foot in front of her.

Swinging her foot around and then facing me Pikachu charged me and struck me while I was still in the wall with electricity paralyzing me. I struggled to stand up as I tried to catch my breath when Umbreon speeded next to me and quickly kneed me in the gut with a Faint Attack launching me into the air where Charizard caught me by the hand and threw me into a corner wall completely illuminated.

"What did you do to the bug?" I asked referring to the fireball.

"We took off her earring," Charizard said kneeling down closer to me as I tried to catch my breath. "The thing was practically glued to her earring so we took it off and threw it in the storage room. Without it anywhere near us, you couldn't make heads or tails about what Pikachu was planning."

"So why leave me here instead of taking me to the plane?" I asked.

"Because you said the only reason that you would come with us is if you decide on it yourself," Cassandra said walking up behind him. "I just wanted to talk about what's bothering you."

"Like I said, nothing," I said about to stand up when a set of claws cut through the wall next to me with Charizard's now visible claws cloaked in shadows and a pair of spectral wings appearing out of his back from two tattoos on his back resembling them. "Shadow Claw, huh?"

"Perfect, don't you think?" he asked walking away leaving me alone with Cassandra.

"Well you have me captured; now what is it you want?" I asked as she took off my mask.

"Y'know, the other day when you went crazy I saw the first smile ever from you. Granted it was a maniacal smile, but a smile nonetheless," Cassandra said. "I want to know what you and that guy Defectus are, and neither of us is leaving until I know what's going on."

"…Are you sure?" I asked. "Because what has been heard cannot be erased from your memory."

"If it means I can help you Pokémon, yes," Cassandra answered confidently.

"All right," I conceded. "Cassandra? I'm a cursed Pokémon. A Pokémon who has been completely shunned by society for their entire life. I am Pokémon who can never feel happiness. No matter how hard he tries."

"Shunned from society? Then is Kazan?" Cassandra asked.

"No," I answered as she sighed out of relief. "Quilava simply made his own choices to become who he is. A cursed Pokémon is a Pokémon who is placed under this curse by a powerful entity against their will. Dusknoir, my elder, is one of these entities, and placed a curse on me centered in my eye. Cofagrigus was attacked by a legendary Pokémon for his unwillingness to follow his instincts and has become of us. Only he knew it much faster than I did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cassandra asked.

"I didn't know I was an actual cursed Pokémon until just the other day when Cofagrigus made it all very clear to me," I said standing up. "That realization is what made me stop my attack on you and the others."

"But at least you know it's not your fault, right?" she asked.

"No, because if I wasn't in control then how could I remember everything about that incident?" I asked her in return. "I knew very well what I was doing and I couldn't stop my own conscious from trying to kill you."

Cassandra looked down and saw the tears in my eyes fall to the ground as I began to walk away. Before I could reach the end of the hallway Cassandra jumped towards me and wrapped her arms around me in a large hug trying to calm me down.

"I don't care," she said as my eyes widened. "You may think you're cursed, but at the same time you're blessed to have so many people and Pokémon care about you. I don't know the rules of society in your world, but here in this world you can be friends with a person who has cancer and people look up to you. We help people, and in this case Pokémon, with their problems. So I don't care what you say to try to make me feel like you don't belong. Because as long as I'm here with you, I won't betray your trust or ever make you feel like you're cursed, okay?"

"Cassandra?" I said kneeling over.

"Yes?"

"Why were you ever kind to me in the first place?" I asked falling to the ground on my knees. "I was a weirdo with an eye patch who wouldn't give people so much as a sideways glance. Why did you want to be friends with me? A person like me doesn't deserve it."

"There are two reasons," she said releasing me. "I find it my responsibility to make sure everyone feels welcome at our school and from the first minute I met you I…well…sort of…," she said stared to mix up her words.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Nothing, just forget it," she said breathing out with relief. "Let's get going."

"What makes you think I'm still going with you?" I asked standing up.

"Two reasons; one, you're my school ambassador guardian, you have no choice in the matter, and two, you won't get your mask back if you don't," she said twirling the mask on her finger.

"What!" I exclaimed following her throughout the airport as she laughed while taunting me with it.

* * *

><p>As the plane began to leave for Japan Cassandra, Umbreon, and I all looked down to find Pikachu back on Charizard's shoulders waving goodbye to us with Charizard chuckling while doing to same. Sitting back Umbreon fastened her seat belt quickly and sat down comfortably ready for the flight.<p>

"Do you think they'll let Charizard fly home?" Cassandra asked.

"I wouldn't," I said looking down at him as he began to stumble after a sneeze with Pikachu trying to maintain their balance. Looking back over at Cassandra, who has just placed a pair of head phones and opened a magazine, my eye soon depressed as I looked down at my own hand. _"There's still one truth about the Cursed Pokémon you don't know, Cassandra, or anyone else for that matter,"_ I thought to myself. _"The rule of the Cursed Pokémon is that they will eventually be consumed by this overwhelming power based on their own greed for this power. When that time comes for me, the question is not whether _I_ will be ready, but will _you_ be ready?"_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Pikachu played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Charizard played by Timberstar

* * *

><p>Chapter nine complete. Well, I guess that could've been a better chapter, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Well, we'll be heading to Japan next for the start of one of the larger arcs where my second OC will finally be introduced. I can tell you've been waiting for that one. Also, while we're on the subject, I have, currently, 36 OCs. So you only have to wait five more days until some of you can submit a third OC to close them off.<p>

Chapter ten preview: After arriving in Tokyo Duskull receives the alarming news that a rogue Pokémon has been able to make it to this world and that he must be apprehended before any real damage is caused. Will Duskull accept this mission, or will he allow his old feelings to control his decision? Also, with the appearance of such a rogue you can bet there'll be more Pokémon characters introduced in this next installment of Pokémon Gijinka: Walking Among Us. Next time: Deciding with Humans.


	11. Deciding with Humans

Here's chapter ten of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now we finally get to Japan, and a state of massive OCness, beware (insert sinister laugh). More than likely I will have my second OC be a part of this story line along with a large amount of the OCs sent to me earlier when I started the story so for those of you who have been waiting for their OC to feature, get ready for some heated battle. And a final note about Duskull if this may clear up any confusion; when he places his mask on his face his cloak covers his body.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Deciding with Humans<p>

Looking down from the plane window at night I could see the city of Tokyo lit up as though it were still day out. Umbreon and Cassandra looked outside with anticipation as the plane began its final descend to the Tokyo grounds where we would be staying at until Cassandra's business was finished and we would back in England within the week. I gotta say, as much as I've enjoyed this trip, I can't wait to get home. As the plane touched down on the ground Umbreon rested comfortably as the seat belt kept her from being launched into the seat in front of her which I found to be slightly boring.

"Y'know, if I had clipped that belt, I might have enjoyed that a bit more," I said standing up and stretching my back.

"Yeah? Well I enjoy it more when I don't become the face of human pinball," Umbreon said doing the same.

"Looks like it's going to be cold out there," Cassandra noticed with many of the people inside wrapped up in scarves and such.

"Doesn't surprise me," I said. "Remember, while it may have been pretty warm in Australia we are still in the winter months. Better grab your coats."

Placing my dark overcoat over my body I looked behind me to find Cassandra placing on a long brown coat that reached down to her knees and Umbreon wearing a dark wool jumper with a red design lining the bottom. I nodded in approval as we stepped outside into the cold night air of the Japanese winter.

* * *

><p>Walking along the streets to our hotel we found that we quickly became the center of most people's attention as the three foreigners, and one of them being a pirate. As we stepped into the hotel we found ourselves the center of attention with a large number of the guests becoming fearful of me and my eye patch that seemed to stare at all of them even though my head stayed away from them.<p>

"Who is this for?" the desk clerk asked in very choppy English.

"This name," I said taking a pen out of my bag and taking a piece of paper. "ｶｻﾄﾞﾗ ﾖｰｸﾔｰ," which translates to "Cassandra Yorkshire" in Japanese katakana.

"Ah, yes, we've been expecting you, Yorkshire-sama, please follow me," he said bowing and then leading us to the room they had prepared for us.

"Well, they sure are polite," Cassandra said. "But, Itzal, you know how to write in Japanese?"

"Just the basics," I said taking the adjacent room from the girls. "I learned it while I was studying up on Japan because it was the only place we were going to that had a different writing style. See ya tomorrow," I said walking into my room.

Lying awake in bed I looked up at the ceiling and looked out at the open city with its lights still on and its populace still out and about. I sighed while placing my hand on the window and closed my eyes.

"Somewhere in this city is a whole crop of the Pokémon sent here, and I have to find them," I said placing my hand on my eye patch. "But why do I have this sudden sinking feeling that something will happen between our two worlds?"

* * *

><p>Waking up early I got dressed with my overcoat when I knocked on the other door when I heard the sound of Umbreon chuckling and Cassandra whimpering as though it was torture.<p>

"_This does not bode well,"_ I thought placing my ear next to the door.

"C'mon, just admit it Cassie, you really do like him, don't you?" Umbreon asked while chuckling.

"I do not," Cassandra quickly replied as though defending herself against an accusation. "He doesn't even know how to let things go."

"That's not how you acted when you talked to him alone yesterday," Umbreon said as Cassandra jerked her head in surprise, I'm assuming. "You were about to say something to him, weren't you?"

"T-that's not it," Cassandra said as I knocked again surprising them when Cassandra opened the door to find me standing in front of her. A blush took over her face as she ran out of the doorway and down the stairs of the hotel.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked not knowing the reason for her embarrassment.

"Oh, my friend, you have a lot to learn about the world we're stuck in," Umbreon said patting my shoulder as she then followed after Cassandra.

"Humans are weird," I said closing their door and then following the two down.

After leaving Cassandra at her meeting Umbreon and I walked down the Tokyo streets when we found a small shop that we decided to try out. After walking in we were greeted by a young girl about the same age as me with long platinum hair reaching down to her waist and icy blue eyes with a small purple hint.

"Welcome to Kazan Sushi," she greeted in a small voice. "Are there only two in your party?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said as she led us to the bar of the sushi place. "Wait, did you say 'Kazan?'"

"Yes, the owner of the store," the girl said walking away with several orders ready for delivery.

"_Please no,"_ I thought as a young male figure came out from the back of the kitchen and smiled at me mischievously.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Quilava said grabbing a couple of knives from the wall while throwing a fish in the air.

As it came down Quilava quickly sliced in different patterns as it fell to the ground in perfect sushi squares and the tale landing next to the cubes. Umbreon applauded in amazement while Quilava expertly threw the knives back to the wall where they landed perfectly in place.

"Thank you, I'll be here all week," Quilava said bowing and serving the sushi to us. "Hey, Missy, the miso soup is ready for table six," he said looking over at the girl who showed us in.

"What're you doing in Japan?" I asked turning his attention back on the two of us.

"I'm taking a sabbatical from the TV life and I opened this little sushi shop here to see if I could _cut_ it," he said holding one of his knives. "Bad pun, I know. But when I came here I found Missy and she's been doing great."

"She looks like a very frail girl, though," Umbreon commented.

"She is," Quilava agreed. "When I found her she was abused by her previous employer so I gave her the opportunity, and I don't regret that. So where's Cassie?"

"She's at her student ambassador's meeting and then we're shipping out for England after that," I answered at Kazan stopped his chopping his vegetables with one of his knives getting stuck in the ceiling.

"You're leaving?" he asked almost afraid of the idea. "Well, see that could be a problem," he said jumping up and pulling the knife out of the ceiling. "I actually have something I need to discuss with you in private, Duskull."

"If it has to do with Arceus, the answer is no," I said picking up a piece of sushi with my chopsticks and then placing it in my mouth. "You know how I feel about the guy."

"Just hear me out, okay?" he asked as Missy came back over and grabbed the soup.

"Hey, Missy, why don't you go on break and show Briana here around?" Quilava suggested as Missy nodded in agreement and showed Umbreon out of the restaurant.

"She's a Pokémon too, isn't she?" I asked. "Her platinum hair and eyes suggest an ice type and her eye expression suggest a ghost type placing her in only one Pokémon category, Froslass."

"Yeah, she used to take sick Pokémon to centers for treatment, but was always so shy around humans; she came here to cure it," Quilava explained. "But back to what I wanted to talk about with you. Duskull, Arceus needs your help catching a criminal. When we were all sent here a Pokémon that was convicted of crimes came here for evasion of them."

"Tragic, but why me?"

"He doesn't know of anyone more deductive than you," Quilava explained. "So here's the gist of it; Arceus wants you to find this rogue and bring him to justice. So are you in or out?"

"Out," I answered plainly and without contemplation. "I've already made my position of how I feel about Arceus, and that isn't about to change."

"Will you at least think about it?" Quilava asked.

"…Fine," I said after contemplating for a few seconds. "But I'm not making any promises."

"Thank you, Duskull," he said going back to cooking. "Right now, I need to get back into my new persona, The Machete Master."

"That's lame," I said walking out of the restaurant as Umbreon and Missy the Froslass returned. "What time do you have?" I asked Umbreon as she looked at her watch.

"About noon," she said as I nodded.

"I'll go pick up Cassandra and then we're probably going to do some sightseeing," I said. "So if we're not back by six just go ahead and choose a restaurant without us."

"All right, lover boy," she said making me turn around.

"What the heck does that mean?" I asked.

"Never mind," she said as I left. "Boy, comments like that are wasted on guys like him."

Umbreon looked at Froslass who nodded in agreement while strapping on her apron.

* * *

><p>After meeting with Cassandra the two of us left to look around Tokyo when we stopped in a place called Harajuku. Everywhere around us were people dressed as weird as I did when I put on my entire outfit for when I battle. As we stopped by a large shop I felt the slightest notion that we had been followed when I turned around to find a large group of middle aged men, mostly in glasses, holding up their cell phones and snapping pictures of the two of us. I grabbed Cassandra's hand and pulled her out of the group as we ran to a café. I sighed out when we were greeted by a young girl in a maid outfit who bowed politely.<p>

"Welcome back, master," she said looking up at me with what I was guessing a professional smile.

"I'm sorry?" I said confused by her comment.

Looking into the restaurant I saw many similar girls in the same dress and many of the same guys in glasses looking at me and Cassandra when they pulled out their cell phones and began taking pictures in a mad frenzy. I gripped onto Cassandra's hand again and ran out of the store and continued to do so until we made it out of that district of the city. Both me and Cassandra struggled to catch our breath as we poked our heads around the corner to find some of the men looking around.

"That guy was fast," one of them said.

"But that girl was perfect," another said.

"Shoot me," I said as I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Looking up I saw Froslass looking down at the two of us when she motioned for us to follow her. Following her discreetly back to the area we were originally in as we sighed out of relief. Looking up I saw Froslass had changed her clothes from her work outfit to a white shirt with a white coat with fake fur lining it, a pair of yoga pants, and a pair of running shoes. She smiled slightly as she pointed to a small guide book of Tokyo when she bowed and left.

"Who's that?" Cassandra asked.

"A Froslass, an ice and ghost type Pokémon, which works at Quilava's sushi bar," I said grabbing a guide book from the information desk. "Let's see, the district we were in is called Harajuku; a place that specializes in cosplay, anime, and manga sales as well as having many shops and cafés around the district. Based on how those guys reacted to a girl like you they must not have too much interaction with girls and therefore act like bumbling idiots."

"Kazan's here?" Cassandra asked.

"That's what you took from that?" I asked. "But yes."

"What did he want?" she asked.

"He wants me to become Arceus' stooge," I said. "A rogue Pokémon entered through the rift in space for crime evasion and they want me to find him. But I declined."

"Why?"

"Does that deserve a 'why'? In case you haven't noticed, I don't like Arceus at all. So why should I help?" I asked.

"Well, the question is whose the bigger man?" Cassandra asked. "The one who holds onto the grudge or the one who's willing to mend fences and let it go?"

"Don't get philosophical on me, Cassandra," I said pointing at her. "I'm sure there's another Pokémon who can do the job. Besides we'll be gone in a few days, that's not enough time to search this entire country," beginning to walk away.

"Oh yeah, about that," Cassandra said chuckling nervously. "We have to stay here for about another month."

I stopped mid-step and swiveled to face her with an annoyed face as she looked at me nervously.

"A month?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"To what means?"

"The ambassador program wanted one of us to stay here on an exchange program so I volunteered myself and they said that my student guardian would also have to do it with me," she explained with her face frozen in perma-smile. "Sounds like fun, right?"

"…I'm going to go find a cliff, and then jump," I said walking away. "It'll be less torturous."

"What's wrong with that?" she asked.

"This completely invalidates the excuse I'm using to get out of helping Arceus," I replied. "The only thing keeping me from helping him is my hatred for him."

"Doesn't compassion triumph against hate?" Cassandra asked.

"…No, I don't that's right," I said stopping in my walk.

"Itzal," she said expectantly.

"Fine, I'll give it a bit more thought, but it's gonna take a heart rearrange to get me to agree this, I hope you realize that."

* * *

><p>That night we ate again at Quilava's restaurant who was having a nice conversation with Cassandra as he was performing his sushi slicing as "The Machete Master." After the meal Cassandra and Umbreon began walking back to the hotel when I stopped to talk with Quilava.<p>

"Hey, Quilava," I said calling him over to where I was. As he walked up wiping his hands he looked at me. "Tell him I'll do it. But don't get the wrong idea; I'm only doing it because I prefer this world where I have friends over that world where I have none."

"I'll tell him," Quilava said flipping the wash rag over his shoulder. "Some things you'll need to know about this rogue. While we don't what Pokémon it is, we know that they're of Sinnoh lineage. That's all we know, and it should be known, that Pokémon is extremely violent, able to subdue Pokémon much larger and more powerful than it."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said about to walk away.

"One more thing, Duskull," Quilava said as I turned around. "I have to know, why did you change your mind, and so quickly?"

"Because I learned that it was my turn to be the bigger man, and that sometimes compassion trumps hate," I said walking away and catching up with Cassandra and Umbreon.

"_No matter what Arceus, even if we're working together, it doesn't mean I've forgiven you. Keep that fresh in mind," _I thought as I looked up at the sky and seeing Arceus in the stars' patterns.

* * *

><p>The next morning I woke up earlier than usual and found a uniform for the school I would be attending next to my bed consisting of a light blue jacket with a crest on the left side of the chest and a pair of light blue slacks. Packing all my clothes into my bag I dressed myself into the uniform and looked at the uniform itself buttoned up and then, with my Will O Wisp attack, I burned them off so the jacket became separated in the middle revealing my dark colored shirt.<p>

Grabbing my coat I put it on and walked out of the hotel when I saw Cassandra waiting in a similar jacket but with a blue skirt reaching down to her knees with her brown coat unbuttoned ready for the cold weather. Umbreon followed me down and lined the two of us up as though in roll call.

"All right, so the gist is, for the next month the two of you will be attending this academy for two reasons; the first being for a requirement for Cassandra's ambassador's program, and so we can get information on the rogue Pokémon that managed to get into the rift," she relayed as we both nodded. "While the two of you are in the school I will be trying to find information from some of the locals. Until then, good luck to the both of you."

"Alright! Let's go, Itzal!" Cassandra shouted grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the hotel into what I was sure to be my doom.

On the way to the train station we were stopped by Froslass who hailed us over and gave us two boxed lunches that she apparently made by herself knowing that we were going to this school.

The two of us went to a train station with many people around our age in the same uniforms as a train came speeding by. Just as the train was coming into view two of the male students were engaged in a friendly fight when they knocked a girl over as she stumbled in her footing and fell over the tracks. As the other students gasped in horror I pulled my mask from my book bag, backed into a darkened corner, and launched a Shadow Ball in the opposite direction of me launching me in the direction of the girl. The girl's scream was stopped when she felt my arm on her shoulder and I looked down at her and launched another Shadow Ball from my hand and launched the two of us to the other side. As the girl stood up with my help she looked at me and reached for my mask. Panicking I melted into a shadow close to me leaving the other students stunned as to what just happened.

Walking out of the corner I rejoined Cassandra before anyone noticed I was gone for too long. As the train sped by and stopped for the students to board I saw the girl board with a slight twinge in her leg. She wore a similar coat that Cassandra wore except it was a more faded color and her eyes were a deep green with black hair that simply flowed down her back to about the middle of it.

"_To be honest, she looks like a near exact copy of Cassandra," _I thought as the train stopped at a large school that reminded me a lot of the school back in England. _"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"_

As we got off the train I looked back and saw the girl struggling to get up. I sighed disappointed and helped her up and braced her arm over my shoulder when I reached Cassandra who held up the other arm over her shoulder.

"Where's the nurse's office?" I asked.

"It's in the main building to the left," she said pointing. "Why're you helping me?"

"I have my reasons," I said. _"Because I accidently twisted your ankle when I grabbed you and I wasn't watching where your foot was and it grazed the step to the platform so I feel partially responsible."_

"So where're you guys from?" she asked in English. "You guys aren't from around here, are you?"

"We're from England," Cassandra said as we reached the nurse's office. "We're here on an exchange program for the time being."

"I see, oh, and by the way, cool patch, but it's not the right time to be cosplaying," she said looking over at me.

I stood there confused by her comment when Cassandra tugged on my sleeve.

"So what now?" Cassandra asked.

"We check in like we've been doing with the hotel situation and then we find our class," I explained. "My guess is that we won't be in the same class."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Simple, I can speak Japanese and you can't," I replied plainly. "The whole point of our being here is so we can continue our education, but given that you don't fully understand the language the only efficient way to do that is to be in a bilingual class where there'll be a translator to help you."

"Oh, I see," she said sadly.

"Keep in mind, it's only for the school day, and I'll be tutoring you in Japanese while we're here. If you're anything like the student you were in England you'll pick it up pretty quickly," I said lifting her spirits.

* * *

><p>"So you're from England and you can already speak English?" my teacher, a woman in her mid thirties wearing a tan shirt and skirt and glasses, asked.<p>

"That's about the gist of it," I said with my visible eye facing her.

"Well this is your class, wait until I call you in here to prep the other students," the teacher said with my eye patch still not visible to her.

As she entered the class I thought back to what Quilava told me about the rogue.

"So they're from the Sinnoh region," I reminded myself. "But that's all we know about them other than the fact that they love a good fight almost every day."

"You can come in now!" the teacher shouted breaking my train of thought.

"Coming," I said as I walked facing her with my eye patch looking at her.

"Um, what is that?" she asked.

"An eye patch," I said plainly. "You'd think that'd be obvious," I said turning to face the class with the teacher walking up to me angrily.

"Give it to me," she commanded holding her hand out.

"What are you smoking?" I asked sarcastically. "I wear for the obvious reason; I have no left eye."

The teacher backed away from me and apologized. Turning to face the board I grabbed a piece of chalk and began writing my name as "ｲﾂｱﾙ" which translates into "Itzal."

"My name is Itzal; due to an exchange program I will be joining this class. It's nice to meet you all," I said bowing to the class.

"Good, then you'll sit over there," she said pointing to a boy next to the window.

The boy did catch my eye when I first walked in because of his more individualistic look; he wore his school jacket like me, unbuttoned, his hair was more unruly than the others in class and he had blue highlights in it making him stand out from the rest of the class. The seated next to him was indeed empty but next to that was the girl I had saved just this morning.

As I walked to the seat I sat down in between the two people when I looked at both sides of me when the girl held out her hand.

"I'm Kimiko, thanks for earlier," she said as I shook her hand.

"Call me Tori," the boy on the other side of me said holding out his hand with a confident smile.

"Pleasure," I said with a similar smile. _"While I'm not excited to being a new class at least the list of suspects just became a whole lot easier to compile."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Quilava played by Bionicleguru

Froslass played by Mew Mew Pachirisu

* * *

><p>Chapter ten complete. Hope you all don't mind the speedy update, but I don't have much to do being the straight "A" student I am. I also finished my college applications yesterday so let's hope all goes well (cross fingers). Hope you all are getting pumped for how this Japan arc will unfold.<p>

Chapter eleven preview: After Duskull's original accusation is proven wrong about the rogue Pokémon he finds things even more difficult when one of his classmates learns what he is and is willing to help him. How can this go wrong; I can think of so many ways? Next time: Investigating with Humans.


	12. Investigating with Humans

Here's chapter eleven of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now that we've started the Japan arc we can finally get into some more complicated story ideas so make sure to pay attention to every detail or you will miss stuff. By the way, the gate open now opens for a third OC to be submitted; keep in mind these spots will fill fast so get yours in quick. I will allow up to nine more OCs to be submitted so i may have to drop a few because on December 10th I will post the final verdict of whose OCs made it identified only by code name on my profile. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 11: Investigating with Humans<p>

Tori, from everything I was able to observe of him today, is a lazy and sleep deprived person. Still, despite all these negative character flaws he has an excellent memory that I don't think he would have to pay attention half the time. What's more, he seems to have a relationship with the girl that sits adjacent to me, Kimiko, which mirrors my own with Cassandra. The two seem to have friendship that can easily be mistaken for something else, but if my assumption is correct, it'll never work.

As the final bell of the day rang Tori was the first to stand up and shouted out commands to rise from one's seat, bow to the teacher, and then be dismissed. Based on Tori's tone of voice, during this time of the day he assumes a more powerful pose than the normal laid-back demeanor he has. As the students slowly dispersed Tori grabbed a long blue with a dark lining that was torn at the bottom and left the class alone. Before I tried to leave Kimiko grabbed my hand and gave me a cheerful smile.

"How about I show you around?" she offered which gave me mixed feelings.

"_On the on hand it's a good opportunity to get a feel for the area, but I need to tail my prime suspect in case my accusations are correct after all," _I thought as she led me through the halls while I still held my thinking pose.

As we reached a cross section of hallways I saw Cassandra waiting for me. She waved at us and Kimiko let go of my arm to stop and look at the other transfer student.

"And you would be?" Kimiko asked looking at Cassandra from the bottom up.

"I'm Cassandra Yorkshire, a friend of Itzal," she said latching onto my arm.

"_Why do I suddenly get the mentality I'm in a warzone?" _I asked myself as both Cassandra and Kimiko gave each other death glares. _"I mean sure, I get Cassandra being a little attached to me, but I just met Kimiko. What's her deal?"_

I pondered this as Kimiko showed the two of us around the school from the main track field to the dorm area seen from an observation deck.

"That explains why there were so many students traveling by train," I said looking over my shoulder at the far-off dorm areas.

"Isn't it like that in England?" Kimiko asked.

"Nah, our dorms are right by the main school building, that way there's much less of a chance of people getting hurt on the way to school," I answered when Cassandra suddenly reacted to my comment.

"What're you thinking?" she asked whispering in my ear as she pulled me down to her face. "What if she figures it out that you saved her this morning?"

"Then I'll finally be able to erase someone's memory," I said plainly standing up straight, but quietly enough that Kimiko couldn't hear. "And out of curiosity when did you suddenly pick up on Japanese so fast? I mean you knew what I was saying there and you knew what Kimiko was asking."

"They taught me a few keywords and I self taught some of the more difficult phrasing myself," Cassandra said crossing her arms and looking away. "Anyway, choose your words carefully around this girl. Who knows what she'll pick up on?"

"I can hear you, you know," Kimiko said in flawless English.

"You can speak English? I mean better than most English speakers?" I asked.

"Well, I must say I've always been attracted to foreigners so I have to know how to converse with them," she said flipping her hand through her hair.

"How much of that did you hear anyway?" Cassandra asked nervously.

"Right from about 'out of curiosity,' why?" she asked as both Cassandra and I sighed out of relief. "There something I should know about."

"You have no idea," I said walking away when I heard the intercom sound.

"_If we could have the following students come to the administration office please, Cassandra Yorkshire and Itzal…no last name,"_ the intercom sounded projecting a teacher's voice.

Cassandra sighed out of relief again and looked smugly at Kimiko as she dragged me by my hand away from Kimiko and to the administration office. About halfway to the main school building I released my hand from Cassandra's grip making her turn around.

"Out of curiosity, what do you find bad about Kimiko finding out what I am anyway?" I asked as Cassandra blushed. "I mean it's about as bad as you finding out or any other human knowing."

"I just think you should show a little discretion," she said holding her finger up and pointing at me as though lecturing me. "I'm just trying to help you fit into this world while you're here. You really don't need more than one human for that, do you?"

"Technically no, but she is a local and she could always tell us about weird happenings around the school area that might be related to the rogue Pokémon that Quilava forced me into finding," I explained.

"True enough, but you can do so discreetly and without having more people know that you're a Duskull in disguise," Cassandra said opening the doors to the administration office with the headmaster waiting for us.

The headmaster was an aging man beginning to lose the hair on his head and it seemed to be replaced by the hair growing on his face in the form of a long beard reaching to about the center of his stomach and a mustache falling downwards from his face.

"You wanted to see us, sensei?" I asked as the man simply nodded with a grunt instead of speaking.

He motioned for us to come closer and then handed us two slips of paper with room numbers on them. The dean then motioned for us to leave by pointing at the door and grunted again. I found it odd, but passed it off as him being old as the two of us turned around to leave. Just as we went out the door I turned my head slightly to find the old man's eyes narrowing on both of us.

* * *

><p>The paper the dean had given us entailed our dorm building and our room number. My room number was shown to be in the third building in room 355. Appropriate don't ya think. When I looked over Cassandra's shoulder I noticed her room was in the adjacent building just across from the one I was in so at least we wouldn't be too far separated.<p>

After leaving Cassandra by her dorm building I walked across the courtyard to my own. As I walked across the courtyard I could feel the grass under my feet settling when I heard a person shouting at me.

"Hey, no walking on the grass!" someone yelled from the adjacent dorm. I turned around to find it was my homeroom teacher from her own room in the dorm building. "What's wrong with taking the beaten path?"

"Didn't a great visionary once say, 'Do not keep forever on the public road, going where only others have gone'?" I asked her as she disdainfully glared at me and slammed the window shut.

Entering my room after checking the number on it I knocked on the door and heard no answer so I assumed it was vacant. Upon entering I saw the room was about the size of my old one in England, but instead with a seat of bunk-beds.

"For some reason, I have a queasy feeling in my stomach about all this," I said to myself as I heard something stirring awake in the top bunk.

Throwing off the covers of the bed I saw Tori looking down at me with his hair covering most of his face. I recoiled back after seeing him having not seen him since he left class.

"_So he sleeps all day and then comes here to do the same thing?" _I thought as I walked into the center of the room and placed by bag down. "Looks like you're stuck with me, bud."

"So it would appear," Tori said as he lay back on the bed facing up. "Ground rules; don't wake me up for anything but school, even if there's a fire, don't wake me up, I'll get the message just perfectly," he said while making notice of the fire sprinkler strategically placed directly above him. "Number two, the refrigerator is to be separated into two sections from the main shelves making the door of it communal," he said pointing with his thumb to the refrigerator. "You can find anything you want to eat just don't take the beef flavored ramen or I'll maim you," he explained as he sat up and pointed to a half empty box of beef cupped noodles and an unopened one of chicken flavored. "Other than that, have at it."

"Well since I don't have any plans," I said hopping into the bottom bunk with a mischievous grin on my face. _"Could I ask for a better roommate? My prime suspect? I mean sure it'd be an amazing coincidence, but he is the most conspicuous. The highlights in his hair suggest he's a water type or a Pokémon with a dominantly blue body, the coat he wears is also blue with a darker blue lining supporting the water Pokémon theory. His eyes are also a shade of deep and brilliant blue, but what's the most puzzling thing about him is his sleeping habit. Half of that box has been eaten through and just from here I can read the receipt; 'February 5__th__.' Either he has a tapeworm or he's a Pokémon. The book that I've been reading said that Pokémon, when they appear as humans, seem to have an elevated metabolism allowing them to stay in top fighting form no matter how much they eat. Those noodles were bought the day after we were in Chicago. It's now the twelfth. Those packages, on average, contain at least 24 mini-packages of noodles. In seven days he ate twelve packages…not likely for a person of his build. That, and even during the school day he never ate anything, including during lunch time. Despite Kimiko's concern."_

As I heard Tori above start to snore I smirked and dived into the kitchen and looked at the inside of the refrigerator.

"_If my assumptions are correct there'll be certain food items in this fridge," _I thought as I looked back at Tori who was still snoring contently. _"And let's see,"_ I thought opening the fridge door. _"Huh? Three cartons of milk, a carton of eggs, ice cream? Hmm, maybe later. There's nothing on the bottom two shelves which means Tori was anticipating a roommate which means he didn't come here long ago. My assumptions are getting stronger. But this diet makes no sense; he has dairy, protein, sugars, and the noodles give him his dietary fat, pasta, and assorted vegetables. On the door there's assorted spices and condiments, but all seem to have never been opened."_

"If you're looking for something to eat, I'd suggest the chicken noodles I haven't had much of an opportunity to get a heck of a lot," Tori said looking at me from his bed.

"Oh thanks," I said opening the package nervously and taking a cup of the noodles. "So why haven't you had much of an opportunity?"

"Well, I like to think it's because I only joined this place at the end of December, but it's mostly because I'm lazy," Tori said placing his hands behind his head and laying down on his pillow.

"Why so late in the year?" I asked putting some water in a kettle.

"My old man was late getting my transfer papers in from the old school where I was," he explained as I stopped in ripping the top of the lid off of the package.

"_Old man, he said that with the Japanese word 'otou-san.' The word for father,"_ I thought. _"A Pokémon can't have a family. Maybe he's making some kind of ruse. Calm down, Duskull. Calm down."_

"So what's you old man like?" I asked pouring the water in the package.

"He's on the board of directors for the academy so he's pretty much a workaholic," he replied as I placed a pair of chopsticks over the open space on the noodles. "But he's pretty cool. I think he and my old lady prefer my younger brother more, though."

"Really?" I asked as my assumptions were torn apart one by one.

"Yeah, I guess my brother is more of the studious type," he said chuckling. "Half of the time he's just trying to beat me out as the smarter one. He used to be more of an athlete, basketball, baseball, and the works. But after I got into this school he tried a whole lot harder in his studies. Both my parents are real proud of him."

"You don't feel at all forgotten by them?" I asked taking a portion of my noodles out and slurping them up. _"Not bad."_

"Nah, to be honest I feel adopted sometimes," he said. "But it's nice to know when you know you're little bro looks up to you like that. I've never had to study in the past before so he's just using a different, and more preferred, method."

"Sounds like you're good at coping," I said slurping the last of the noodles. "You know these aren't half bad," I pointed out using the chopsticks as a pointer.

"Just put the chopsticks in the wash," he said going back to sleep.

"_Well there goes my prime suspect,"_ I thought putting the chopsticks next to another set near the sink. _"But on the plus side, I found a new food item that I can live off of."_

* * *

><p>Waking up the next morning I stood on the bed boards and found Tori still fast asleep and snoring harder than last night. Taking a pair of earplugs out I smacked his head with the back of my hand to wake him up.<p>

"I know, I know," Tori said not fully waking up. "Just give five to forty five minutes to wake up."

"Don't blame me when you're late," I said looking over at the clock to find it was only five o clock in the morning. _"Oops. That won't make him happy."_

Changing from my pajama pants to my regular black jeans and black jacket I left the room. Walking silently out of the dorm I walked to the main circle of the courtyard with my mask inside my hood. Placing my hands together I slowly opened them and shot a barrage of Shadow Ball attacks into the air.

"_Twenty Shadow Balls without thinking; I'm improving,"_ I thought. _"Let's try for twenty five."_

Focusing my mind into my hand I shot another barrage of Shadow Ball attacks into the air where they disappeared into the still dark sky.

"_Thirty? Boy, I'm good,"_ I thought turning around when I saw a figure in front of the adjacent dorm in silence. _"Oops. Shoot me."_

Looking farther into the night I saw the girl was Kimiko who was pointing at me and dropped her jaw to the ground. Before she could run back into the dorm I headed her off with Shadow Sneak with my mask fully on for her to see.

"_You_ saved me?" she asked.

"You make it sound like a bad thing," I said taking off my mask. "So I'm guessing by that face you were making, you saw that."

"Which part? The thirty blasts or the instant movement?" she asked still flabbergasted.

"Either one is good enough," I said snapping my fingers producing two fireballs and placing them adjacent to both sides of her head. "Now I'm afraid I have to erase your memory."

"All right, but first tell me what you are," Kimiko requested without fear in her voice.

"Why does this sound so familiar?" I asked myself. "Fine, my real name is Duskull, or how you Japanese call me, Yomawaru. A Pokémon from another world sent here against my will by my king along with forty-nine of my Pokémon companions."

"Man that is like the worst manga plot ever," Kimiko said. "But go on."

"The point is I can't have humans knowing what I am so I need to erase your memory here and now," I reiterated tensing up my hands and began spinning the fireballs around her head.

"So what about Cassie-chan?" she asked with her arms folded.

"What about her?" I said bringing my arms down stopping the process.

"Obviously she knows."

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Simple reasoning," she said shrugging her shoulders. "You two have a good relationship, and most likely an honest one. She probably found out somehow, and you decided to let her keep that memory because of some reason that still remains unknown."

"She keeps me in line in terms of social and public situations that are still unknown to me," I said bringing my arms up.

"Then why not we make a deal? You don't erase my memories or whatever the heck this is," she said pointing to the two fireballs. "And I help you find whoever it is you're looking for. We'll discuss the fee later."

She began to walk away when I headed her off again. "Who said I agreed to those terms? And another thing, how do you know I'm looking for anyone, I never said anything like that."

"No, but you have to admit, you're constant observation of everything to the smallest detail in something that borderlines detective," Kimiko reasoned. "Not to mention you ask a lot of questions for it to be natural. While we were in class you ask questions at least once during each subject, even in gym class."

"I'm a naturally inquisitive Pokémon, what can I say?" I said turning my head away. "But if you can help me find whoever I'm looking for, I'm sure it'll be worth this _fee_ of yours. Whatever the heck that's gonna be?"

"Oh, you'll find out," Kimiko said slyly as we heard the door to the dorm building open with Cassandra looking at the both of us, but mostly at me with a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"Out of curiosity, is this a situation where I should run?" I whispered to Kimiko.

"Yes, and fast," she said as I bolted out of the area with Cassandra in hot pursuit.

* * *

><p>After Cassandra cooled off the three of us entered the train with Cassandra still mad at me and glaring at Kimiko who simply looked back at her with her tongue sticking out.<p>

"Is there some time that you two will get along?" I asked with my eye half opened.

"No," Cassandra said plainly. "How can you just give in like that and let her keep that memory that you're a Pokémon?"

"I gave into your argument, didn't I?" I asked as she turned her face with her cheeks puffed up.

"Moving from that," Kimiko said changing the subject. "What's this rogue Pokémon supposed to be like?"

"From my contact I know he was born in an area called Sinnoh, which means nothing to people here, and that he is extremely violent," I said recalling what Quilava had told me. "So the whole idea has anyone just recently appeared out of nowhere and seemed violent to an extreme?"

"How far back?"

"About the end of December, maybe."

"The only person I know personally is Tori-kun, but his dad works at the school so there goes him," Kimiko contemplated.

"I know, we share a room and I thought he was the rogue," I said surprising Kimiko. "His dietary habits are strange, for anyone, but that also includes a Pokémon's dietary system. Second is his hair style with the highlights."

"What highlights?" Kimiko asked. "Tori-kun's hair is just black like anyone's."

"He has blue highlights going practically down to the root," I said. "Anyway, there are two problems with my idea of him being a Pokémon."

"And that would be?" Cassandra asked.

"First is the fact that he has a family and a member here who can easily verify this," I explained as the two watched me more intently. "The second is he has no visible enabler."

"Enabler?" Kimiko asked.

"Pokémon in this world can't make full use of their attacks without an item I have deemed as an Enabler. With any Pokémon, it's a defining feature such as my mask. For a friend of ours it's her earrings, for some people it's body alterations, but there are some Pokémon that have this near invisible. The only problem is even after spending so much close proximity to him I felt no presence of a Pokémon."

"Then doesn't that eliminate him from the list?" Cassandra asked.

"Maybe, but he's still suspicious," I said as the train stopped and I stepped off first and waited by the door.

As Cassandra and Kimiko stepped off they noticed I didn't move until after everyone else moved off. I rejoined them later with narrowed eyes and a disappointed face.

"Something wrong?" Kimiko asked.

"He wasn't on the train," I said which didn't seem to surprise Kimiko.

"That's not strange," she said walking ahead of us to a shack with a long roof over it where I single bike lay against a wall and a metal rod with a chain looped around the front wheel and the pipe. "He commutes by bike."

"That's nearly five miles from there to here," Cassie noted.

"Maybe that's how he works off those noodles," I joked as I continued to walk to the class where I saw Tori already in and erasing the board of yesterday's notes. "What's he doing?"

"Oh, that's normal of a class representative," Kimiko said walking into class making Tori turn his head to look at us.

"Good morning," he said bowing to the both of us which we copied in return.

"I guess Itzal still isn't used to some of the customs in Japanese schools," Kimiko said placing her hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't quite understand the responsibilities of a class representative."

"Understandable," Tori said going back to his work. "Any other questions you have?"

"Not at the moment," I said going back to my desk where I saw an open newspaper on it. "What's this all about?"

"This is the earliest I've ever gotten to school so I thought I should thank you," he said placing the eraser down. "That's this morning's newspaper and I found out through the grapevine that you were a detective so I thought that would interest. It's an article on some mysterious thief spotted in the area."

Looking down at the article I saw only the thief's shadowed figure and a reflection of a gem from the picture flash. Reading through the article I thought to myself the entirety of all the possibilities.

"_According to this, 'The mysterious Phantom Thief S has gone through several new exhibits in museums all across Japan stealing gems and returning them days later in unmarked packages to the original owners who claim that different organizations had stolen them. Is this some Robin Hood giving to the poor and stealing from the rich, or is he a super criminal waiting for the heist of all heists?' Could it be that this is describing the stealing capabilities of a Pokémon? Or a really good Houdini wanna-be? I have to look into this and before the police can get their hands on him."_

"Ah, the Thief S, huh?" Kimiko said reading over my shoulder. "My dad's been going crazy over catching him ever since the museum in Okinawa hired him to keep it safe."

"Your dad's a detective?" I asked turning around to look at her.

"Mm-hm and a pretty good one at that. Everyone is always saying how he's the Japanese Sherlock Holmes," she said sighing out of disappointment.

"Ironic how our class is going to Okinawa tomorrow," Tori said sitting down in his desk. "I think they also want your English girlfriend to go as well. Her being a student ambassador and everything. I think one of the University class' outstanding students is coming with us."

"My question is why?" I asked.

"Well, it's for our school's festival. We have a large festival near the end of February that takes up an entire week. We have our sister school in Okinawa come down to participate in the festivities with us and help set up."

"_Perfect,"_ I thought. _"Even if my initial assumptions went horribly wrong I can still get more information from the students there and if I know Umbreon she'll be coming with us to keep an eye on us. Though I'm never sure why. But anyway, this trip to Okinawa couldn't come at a better time."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

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><p>Chapter eleven complete. With that chapter underneath my belt the cast is now heading to Okinawa for school purposes, security purposes, and Pokémon purposes. A final reminder before I get into the preview; third OCs are now open to up to nine spots as the last will be used for my own third OC. At which point i will post all fifty OCs by codenames only on my profile. I may have to ommit a few of them, but let it be known if this is another OC that you will be sending and I get another OC from someone else in which it is their first they will get priority. I hope you understand. Arigtou.<p>

Chapter twelve preview: Upon arriving in Okinawa we meet faces, both old and new, and a large problem. Not only is the Phantom Thief S trying to steal a supposedly stolen gem, but Duskull doesn't realize the trouble he's in between Kimiko and Cassandra who are preparing like crazy for the day of February 14th. Next time: Stealing with Humans.


	13. Stealing with Humans

Here's chapter twelve of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now that I went through that chapter where basically nothing happened we finally get to a chapter for some awesome Pokémon action. And I would like to request something of my readers at this opportunity; in April of next year I'm going to my first SakuraCon in Seattle. For those of you wondering SakuraCon is like any other Japanese culture/Anime convention just in the far-off-nobody-thinks-about-us state of Washington. As this is my first convention I would like to get some feedback from people who I've come to meet on this great website. So if some of you could go onto .com and in the search section look for "sabasquez" you should be able to find it pretty quickly. Fair warning there is an actual picture of me so don't scream. And if you can then add your feedback onto your review that would be great.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 12: Stealing with Humans<p>

Did you know there's a mentality to describe things like the sound of a word or an atmosphere with colors? Well, let's see if I can attempt that. So first, a little context; my class from Japan along with Cassandra, a supervising college student named Kusa Kurai, and a supervising "adult" Umbreon. Kusa's an okay guy, but he looks even stranger than I do. He's maybe a couple inches taller than me with shoulder length white hair, wild yellow eyes, probably colored contacts, and is about as thin as a rail with only the slightest bit of muscle; given the time of year he wears a black and green hooded sweatshirt and jeans.

Anyway back to the whole color thing. The atmosphere I was feeling was a mix of colors. The most prominent was a feeling of a pink atmosphere. Sitting in the back of a bus means you can get a good view of everyone without them knowing you're watching them. But the female population on the bus which made up about a third of the total population were all chattering excitedly while showing their friends heart-shaped chocolates. For some reason this made me feel as though there were some ulterior motive for making chocolates like the ones they were holding.

"Tori, what's with the chocolate anyway?" I asked confirming my suspicion.

"It's Valentine's Day today," Tori said plainly still looking out the window.

"Gonna need a bit more than that," I said as Kusa turned around in his seat to look at us.

"It's actually simpler than you think, Itzal," he said. "In Japan, instead of the male showing their appreciation to their significant other, the female makes chocolate and gives it to the boy they like the most."

"Shoot me," I said as a small suction cup was shot at my head.

"You asked for it, is all I can say," Kusa said holding a toy gun that fired the suction cup.

"Remind me why our class has to go to this Okinawa sister school," I requested as Tori was still chuckling at the suction cup on my head.

"Our class had the highest average for our mid-terms so we got the opportunity to skip for the day," Tori explained taking the suction cup off my head. "Besides I thought you were excited to try to catch that thief that is supposed to appear tonight."

"Right now I prefer Shakespeare to that thief," I said. "Besides isn't Kimiko's dad working on that case? One detective is enough."

"Against the Phantom Thief S, it's gonna take nearly ten detectives," Kusa said reading the newspaper. "Kimiko's father is a good detective that's true but he's too small a fry for S."

"And you know that how?" Kimiko asked turning around in her seat to face Kusa who was now hiding behind the newspaper.

"Think of it this way," Kusa said still trying to conceal himself behind the newspaper. "Your dad is about as good as anyone can be at his age, but if he had started earlier in his life, say like Itzal, he would have a better chance. I say you introduce the two when we get to the school."

"I thought the thief was only interested in gems," I intervened. "What's so special about this school anyway?"

"The school specializes in natural sciences as opposed to the school we go to that focuses on the arts," Kusa explained. "In the school there is a rare sapphire that was donated by the original headmaster who made both schools. After he died his will stated that it would go to his grandson. But for some reason there has been talk that the school is planning to sell the sapphire to pay for an expansion out in the sea for the marine biology department of the college level. My guess is that S wants to make sure that doesn't happen and give the gem to its rightful owner."

"Alright everyone!" Umbreon shouted through the bus' intercom. "We have arrived at the Okinawa district of the school so let's be on our best behavior, all right?"

"Yes!" the students shouted back at her.

"Kusa, get up here," Umbreon commanded as Kusa smiled in an amused way.

"Coming, Bree," Kusa said casually.

"Bree?" I asked quietly. "Boy that guy can get friendly fast."

"Nah, Kusa-sempai just has a bad memory. He uses nicknames to help him remember more simple names. Names like yours are too easy to remember because of how abnormal they are," Tori explained.

"You hang out with him a lot?" I asked.

"Not really," he replied. "Every now and again I have to go into the choir room to help with the electrical systems and I often have him help so we talk."

"I see," I said not at all interested as we stepped down from the bus.

After stepping off the bus Kimiko and Cassandra met the two of us and walked with us through the school.

* * *

><p>Entering the auditorium I saw the place swarming with policemen from the Okinawa Metropolitan Police and a rustic man with an unshaved beard beginning to form as though the man hadn't slept in days. He turned to face us as he heard the dorm close behind with eyes as blue as Kimiko's.<p>

"_The resemblance is uncanny, if not creepy,"_ I thought as the man walked towards us standing about five inches above me. _"Now, I feel intimidated."_

"Can I help you civilians?" he said as he turned to face Kimiko. "And you, your highness?" he asked bowing to Kimiko as though she were royalty.

"Good to see you too, Daddy," Kimiko said wrapping her arms around his neck. "Daddy these are my friends from school Tori and Itzal, and my acquaintance Cassandra."

"_Why do they hate each other? There's gotta be a causal link I'm missing,"_ I thought as the large man patted me on the head making me feel even lower.

"To think my daughter could fall for a guy like you, well, I guess we detective types are always luck with the ladies, am I right?" he asked jabbing my arm with his shoulder.

"I didn't follow that train of thought whatsoever," I said. "And I don't think I want to. Nonetheless, it's good to meet you, sir."

"No need to call this humble man 'sir.' Satoshi's the name, crime-solver extraordinaire at your service," the man said pointing at himself.

"_What part of that was humble?" _ I asked myself as I walked into the room to find it directly connected to a room reading, "Marine Biology Lab."

"Is this where the sapphire is kept?" I asked Satoshi looking over my shoulder to see him talking enthusiastically to Kimiko and Cassandra and that Tori had already left. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

><p>I walked in and looked around to find it filled with computers, tanks housing different types of fish, and a female figure in the far corner. Looking at her from behind I saw that she had long bluish white hair falling down her back to about the end of her back, and she seemed to be wearing a set of furry blue pajamas with a nightcap with a furry ball tip.<p>

"You can't be serious," I said walking up to her and shaking her shoulder trying to rouse her from her sleep.

As she began to wake up she looked up at me and gave a small yelp before slapping me in the face.

"_Lucky with the ladies my foot," _I thought as the girl stood up looking at me with chocolate brown eyes.

Needless to say I don't think she was too happy with my sudden appearance as I noticed a small hint of anger in a fist she was forming.

"_Oh bad."_

Barely dodging the punch I fell to her feet and noticed something strange about them. Standing up the girl formed another fist and just as she thrust it at me she was stopped simply by my eye shining in her face. As soon as my eye stopped shining she fell to her knees and still seemed angry with me as I saw her canines seemed more prominent than then rest of her teeth.

"Okay, I wanna know who you are and I why you came here while I was still in my pajamas," she said angrily.

"An even better question to ask is why are you in a set of pajamas in a research lab?" I asked. "I mean sure as a Dewgong you would love all the fish around and everything, but—" I said before she cut me off.

"Who told you I was a Dewgong?" she asked standing up.

"Wasn't hard to tell," I said thinking in the back of my mind that if I got this wrong then I should just stop with my detective work. "First is your skin tone; even for a person who spends so much time in a closed area no person would have skin that borderlines white. Second is more painfully obvious," I said pointing down.

The girl looked down and blushed when she saw I was pointing at her slipper which were designed with a Pikachu.

"Those slippers were popular in the world of Pokémon among female trainers and young girls," I said. "Of the fifty Pokémon sent to this world you were the most insightful so you took those knowing we would turn into human form."

"Fine, you caught me," the girl said walking into another room with a wall thin enough to talk through. "So why are you here, Duskull, is it?"

"You're good, you knew who I was based on that Disable attack I used on you," I said. "I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask you, uh, what should I call you?"

"The humans call me Fubuki," she said walking out of the room in a long sleeve green shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of gloves with a scarf wrapped around her neck. "You're questions would be?"

"First, why're you here?" I asked. "I knew you would be close to the water, but in a research lab?"

"Actually I work at an aquarium in the area, they sent me here on an errand and they asked me for a few days, and I found this place the most comfortable," she said placing her hand on the glass of one of the fish tanks.

"_Just like a water type," _I thought. "My second question is if you know anything about the sapphire that they have here."

"Yeah, it's actually in his room," Dewgong said leading to a back room when I looked back at my overcoat when I noticed something strange about.

Walking into the room a few minutes after Dewgong I saw the large gem cut into a perfect circle protected by a glass box over it. Dewgong looked at it longingly which made me raise an eyebrow.

"I take it you like it," I observed.

"Of course, it's the gem that shows the power of the water Pokémon king, Kyogre," she replied. "But I can't believe what this school is thinking about doing with it. Building a facility on the ocean; haven't they hurt it enough?"

"_Same old Dewgong,"_ I thought. _"She always more focused on protecting the ocean's environment than any other water Pokémon. And I think I can include Kyogre on that list. But nonetheless, I have the target that's going to be stolen now all we have to do is wait until the declared time on his manifesto."_

* * *

><p>Walking out of the research lab with Dewgong following after me I saw that Kimiko and Cassandra were still waiting for me.<p>

"About time," Cassandra said. "And this is?"

"Her name is _Fubuki_, she's a Dewgong, a water type Pokémon," I said introducing her as she bowed hello.

"How many do you guys meet on average?" Kimiko asked.

"We've met a total of about thirteen so far," I answered as Cassandra looked at Kimiko triumphantly. "Speaking of which where's Umbreon?"

"I think she's with the rest of the class while Tori talks to the principal of this school," Kimiko replied. "Every year it's always like this since both schools want to have the festival at their school. It's so troublesome."

"Yeah well, I don't think we'll have to worry about it much, Tori's a good negotiator," I said walking back over to Kimiko's father. "Hey, Satoshi."

"Yes? Ah, Itzal, there's my future son-in-law," he said as Kimiko blushed madly.

"I don't get what you mean, but I'll take it as a compliment," I said as Kimiko fell over on one foot. "I suggest you spread out your police members to as little as two people to an entrance."

"Good advice, kid, but how do you know that'll work?" he asked.

"The best way to catch a thief is to have more bases covered," I explained. "By having more than two people you have people always second-guessing themselves as to whether or not you have a traitor on your team. This spreads out the workforce so the thief has more barriers to break through and if he somehow does make it through you put your best barriers around the precious cargo and, bam, you got him."

Satoshi suddenly laughed and flung his arm around my shoulder. "You're good at this line of work, kid. Hey, Kimiko, make sure not to lose out to that Cassandra girl! Whoever gets this guy will be a lucky woman!"

Both Cassandra and Kimiko blushed harder than before and left the room feeling their faces and noticing them being very hot. I looked at them confused and thought back to what Kusa told me about today and started to think of possible solutions.

"_Nope, I got nothing. I don't get girls, their father gives them some good advice and they find it embarrassing. I just don't understand what they're going to do."_

* * *

><p>As I walked along the path from the auditorium to the classroom I looked all around me and saw the same kind of people back and forth; most of them wearing long white coats, some with wide frame glasses until I reached the class. Opening the door I found the place split in two between two groups; one with the students from our class and one with the students from this school's top class.<p>

"You're being unreasonable, Saru," Tori said looking at a young boy standing in the middle of the group.

He seemed too young to be in high school, maybe even too young to be barely in junior high; I'd say twelve. He was just under five feet tall with red hair and a layer of brown hair underneath reaching down to his shoulders in a tangled mess, and had no visible muscle, but that may have been due to the cargo pants he wore and the large brown jacket over a white t-shirt.

"Whose being unreasonable?" the boy named Saru asked. "I say we have a contest to see who can get the rights to the festival this year."

"Then I say you and I fight it out!" I shouted form across the room.

Saru turned his head and looked at me and saw me with widened eyes. He then turned his face of shock to excitement as he smiled with his canines clearly visible.

"Alright, scrawny," he said in affirmation. "Conditions?"

"Who said we need to have conditions?" I asked as he began to get even more excited. "I do have one. We do this in private with two designated judges. I suggest Fubuki, who's been listening at the door, and Briana."

"I accept those terms, winner gets rights to the festival," Saru said as he led me, Dewgong, and Umbreon to a private area.

Down at the beach underneath a cliff Saru rotated his arms as I just stood there in silence.

"I'm warning you right now; I'm pretty strong," Saru said holding his arms out to his sides.

"I'm sure you are, Infernape," I said as he looked at me with a excited look on his eyes.

"When did you notice?" he asked. "I never made any mistakes in my speech."

"No, but when a child like you can be in charge of a high school class as a representative it makes one think," I explained. "The thing that revealed you was when you looked at Tori I noticed a small shift in your eyes. That shift was them changing color from brown to fire red. Like many Pokémon like yourself, and by that I mean the Pokémon which humans choose to start journeys, for some reason are more spectral in their power manifestation. Your spirit is focused into your eyes, the Charizard sent here has it focused in his back, and the Bayleef sent here has it focused in her hands. But enough talk, let's fight!"

"With pleasure!" Infernape said rushing towards me.

"_Fighting attacks never work against, and yet he charges me with physical power," _I thought as I placed my hands in a defensive manner as he began to get closer.

Before reaching me Infernape chuckled as his eyes shifted their colors and his body became engulfed in flames. Before I could dodge Infernape had already impacted with me and pushed me into the cliff side. Forcing me slightly into the cliff side Infernape cringed slightly and held his arm in pain while still chuckling with a large smile on his face.

"Flare Blitz?" I asked looking at his body with some of the flames still receding. "It causes recoil damage based on what you did to me."

"You don't think I know that, but I know that if I take quite a bit, then you must've taken quite a bit yourself," Infernape said as he made a fighting stance.

I placed my mask on my face and looked around me as the cloak fell to the ground below my feet. I looked over at Infernape but found he was gone after a split second. He then punched right through me and then ended up behind me. Before I could turn around i was punched again this time by a fiery punch that blasted me almost into the ocean.

"_He used Mach Punch to get behind me and the punched me again with a Fire Punch," _I said to myself. _"But maybe this could work to my advantage. C'mon, if I have any of my father's roots it'll be this one."_

"Stupid boys," Umbreon said looking down at them "Do they think they're impressing anyone by fighting like this?"

"I think that Duskull was actually trying _not_ to draw attention to him and Infernape," Dewgong contradicted. "He said to do this in private to confirm his suspicions and knew he couldn't do that in a room full of humans."

"Yeah, but why is that Infernape here anyway? And in a high school class for goodness sake. I mean he looks like a middle schooler," Umbreon said.

"I don't know, but the other students seem to think of him as their leader because he's more down to earth and happy. At least that's what I found out about him from the other students," Dewgong explained.

"So, Duskull, you ready to give up yet?" Infernape asked with his fist still on fire.

"Far from it," I said placing both my hands together. "Being born from two different Pokémon can really be advantageous, you know."

I clapped my hands together and then placed them on the ground where a white aura surrounded me and a black aura surrounded Infernape.

"This is just going to put us on more _equal_ footing," I said as a beam shot from my aura and one from Infernape's.

The two beams crossed each other and Infernape froze in place and fell to the ground on his knees clutching his gut as he began to fatigue quickly while my health seemed to become more replenished.

"My mother may have a Dusclops like anyone's would've been, but my father was a Mismagius," I said as the aura around the both of us disappeared. "And from that I was able to learn Pain Split; a move that equalizes all damage that has been inflicted between the two Pokémon. But it's all proportionate; because I'm a mainly defensive Pokémon I can take more damage which is more than I can say for you," I said blowing out and a large blast coming down from the sky attacking Infernape. "Future Sight works every time."

Infernape arose from the whole in the sand and looked like a member of the undead with his wild eyes and frenzied hair. He looked at me and slowly walked towards me while his arms swayed from side to side. He placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me enthusiastically and then fell to the ground with his hands behind his head.

"Now _that_ was a battle," he said chuckling. "One of you two can go tell the classes that we'll be happy to have the festival in Tokyo," he said turning to both Umbreon and Dewgong.

"You're an odd one," I said looking down at him. "Why is a fire type here where everything is basically beach, beach, and more beach?"

"Because there's no excitement in just staying a place you feel safe in," he said. "I came here because of my disadvantage to water because I thought it would be fun."

"You really are an odd one," I reiterated. "At any rate I'm glad the rogue Pokémon wasn't you. Even with your knack for fighting you never committed any crimes in the Pokémon world. But once I know what type of Pokémon it is, I'm going to blow this case wide open."

"Speaking of cases, have you had any girls give you chocolates today?" he asked sitting up.

"Why?"

"Well those two girls, one was foreign, the other was that detective's daughter, were going at it like mad in the home economics class looking at the cookbooks to try to find the best chocolate recipe they could find," Infernape said. "And they both were hanging around you so I figure they must be making them for you. Man it must be nice to have a girl who likes you for who you are."

"Why would they like me?" I asked. "Better yet, what other kind of like is there? I mean I like Cassandra but isn't that all there is to it? She's a friend, therefore I like her."

"Your parents never told you about anything did they?" he asked.

"Nah, they were exiled by the village elder, Dusknoir, and I was placed under his wing," I replied. "I wonder how my life would've been if they were around all the time."

"My guess, better."

As we stood in silence off in the distance an alarm sounded off in the direction of the auditorium and the research lab. I looked at my watch and saw that something was off.

"Infernape can you still fight?"

"Need you ask," he said standing up almost instantly.

* * *

><p>As we ran through the courtyard past the students and teachers we found ourselves back in the auditorium and that the guards placed outside were unconscious along with the guards inside the lab and Kimiko's father.<p>

"_This guy sure is slippery," _I said to myself running into the lab with Infernape to find a cloaked figure wearing a mask with a long pointed nose.

The mask covered his face to about his mouth where we saw him chuckling over his competition. He began to walk towards us with his arms tucked in his cloak and the sapphire from the case gone.

"Detective Satoshi told me that there was another detective like him who would offer me a challenge," the figure said. "I take it you are that person."

"Maybe, it depends on who's asking," I said as I saw he stood only a few inches above me.

"Call me S, but you could probably figure me out much faster than that," he said running in between us out the door.

"No you don't," Infernape said speeding towards him with his fist shining a light blue color.

"_He's using Mach Punch to catch up to and hit him out of the sky,"_ I thought as I followed after him.

"Get back here, thief!" Infernape said as he finally caught up to the thief and thrust his punch at him.

"Not so fast," the thief said striking Infernape across his body.

Infernape fell on the ground and looked back over at me and gave a motion to go ahead of him. After chasing the thief throughout the auditorium he finally stopped in a corner with no visible escape route.

"You are under arrest," I said about to close in on him.

"Quite the character you've become," the thief said as I stopped my advance. "Did you know that you live in an entirely other world as compared to this one? And in it, you are the main character?"

"What kind of world is that?"

"A world of crime. In this world you live in you assume the role of the detective, but there are many roles that have been assumed in this world you live in. You have your contact," he said making me think of Quilava. "You have a nosy reporter," he said as an image of Umbreon flashed in front of my mind. "You have an archenemy to follow," he said referring to himself. "And lastly, you have a friend, colleague, and maybe more in that girl who follows around," he said as I saw a large image of Cassandra fly in from of me. "Yet there are still many roles that need to be assumed in your world. I'd like to see you find them all. Until then, farewell," he said as a whirlwind whipped up out of nowhere and he disappeared into it.

Infernape caught up with me and panted as he saw that the thief was already gone with the sapphire.

"You let him escape?"

"Hard to keep your hands on a Shiftry, though," I said surprising Infernape. "He attacked you with an Aerial Ace attack which never misses. The mask he wore was more than likely an enabler that he uses when committing these crimes. The final clue about him is he knew about us yet he never told anyone. A human response to the supernatural is to tell the media, but he knew I was a Pokémon meaning he had to be one as well. He placed a bug on my coat before we came here and had been listening to my conversation with Dewgong about the sapphire. During our conversation we talked about the subject of Pokémon and he never reacted to it. The way I know he's a Shiftry is because of his speed and move choices; Aerial Ace, Whirlwind, and then the mask all point to him being a Shiftry."

"You're a good detective, but can you detect you're way out of this next situation?" he asked running away.

I turned around to find Cassandra and Kimiko both holding a small box in their hands with a plastic wrap lid. Inside were two heart-shaped chocolates that they both offered to me at once.

"Please accept this!" they both said in unison while looking at each spitefully.

"Why not, I was getting pretty hungry anyway," I said taking both chocolates. After placing Cassandra's in my mouth I looked up and she a gave a "how is it" look. I savored the flavor for several seconds and then looked back up at her and gave my reply. "I've said it before and I'll say it again Cassandra you couldn't manage dry toast."

Upon hearing this Cassandra looked defeated as Kimiko looked at me in a similar manner of hopefulness after I took a bite out of her chocolate.

"Well, it's not worse, but that's not to say it isn't better either," I said while chuckling as they both made defeated looks on their faces.

The two turned around when they noticed I was still eating the chocolates until they were all gone. I sighed satisfied and stood up and bowed to them both.

"Thank you for taking the time to make those for me. While they weren't delicious, they were still tolerable."

I walked away and smiled while looking back at them at how giddy the two were and how friendly they were being with each other now.

* * *

><p>The next morning I yawned myself awake while we boarded the bus with the Okinawa school's students boarding buses of their own. Satoshi met us at the bus and hugged Kimiko goodbye.<p>

"Too bad you couldn't cacth that thief, Itzal. But I swear, on my pride as a detective I will catch one of these days," he said with a loud laugh. "Now, Kimiko, a little advice from the stand point of a man," he started. "When a boy eats the chocolate you made in front of you even if it's horrible it means you have a very good chance."

"Daddy, will you stop it?" Kimiko asked while blushing with Cassandra passing by her on to the bus.

"Besides, Itzal ate mine as well," she said looking back at the father and daughter duo.

"Kimiko, you can't lose to that girl. That boy is the ideal son-in-law. You're mother will love him."

"I already said, knock it off," Kimiko said boarding the bus after punching her dad in the gut out of embarrassment.

"_Well this is going to be one interesting festival and I think I can take advantage of it to find the rogue. Man, I almost forgot how much I really didn't want to do this job for Arceus," _I thought while the words spoken by Shiftry still echoed in my head. _"But the question for me is not who is the Phantom Thief S, but who is Shiftry?"_

Kusa, the boy in front of me, sneezed as I finished my train of thought and placed his hands behind his head and he lay back in his seat. In his bag on the shelf on top an item glistened in the sun.

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon played by Alicelouise'x

Shiftry played by The Guardian 1412

Dewgong played by Gatechild

Infernape played by Bionicleguru

* * *

><p>Chapter twelve complete. Well that was kinda fun. Remember if I could have some of you look at the cosplay that I'm thinking about going in for the anime convention in the spring and tell me what you think in your review that would be great. Also, in the next chapter I would like to introduce a person who I think has been waiting oh-so patiently, known to me as "your faithful reader Crow."<p>

Chapter thirteen preview: With preparations for the festival underway it's nice to have a friendly face around, isn't it? Especially if there an extremely powerful Pokémon who is willing to Duskull initiate the plan to find the rogue Pokémon the fastest way he can. Next time: Planning with Humans.


	14. Planning with Humans

Here's chapter thirteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. In this chapter I made myself a promise that I would bring back a few characters that I introduced in earlier chapters besides Quilava and Umbreon. Now the Japan arc really gets into high gear.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: Planning with Humans<p>

As my alarm rang in the morning I punched it across the room and looked at it satisfactorily to see it in pieces. Stepping onto the support boards of the bed I looked at Tori's bed to find him not in there.

"_That's weird, to that guy, sleep is as important as breathing, and an activity that should be done as often,"_ I thought as I stepped off the bed and placed my school uniform on and fit my arms through my coat sleeves. _"I think the school is starting the preparations for the festival. Wonder what people do at these things. In the Pokémon world when there's a festival near Mt. Pyre it's always with some creepy old Zubat of a woman waving streamers to ward off evil spirits and to help benevolent spirits move on to the next world."_

As I walked down into the courtyard and down to the train station I was soon met by Cassandra and Kimiko who walked on both sides of me. As we walked down the path to the train station I looked over at a distant building that was set aside for the Okinawa students.

"So are you sure that Saru kid isn't the rogue, Itzal?" Cassandra asked.

"Positive, the guy may like to fight, but he knows the limit," I replied looking at the building and then averting my gaze back to the train station that was coming into view. "The rogue is supposed to be a Pokémon that won't stop no matter what. By the way, Kimiko, I've been wondering what happens at one of these school festivals."

"Well it's different at a lot of schools," she said thinking about it. "But normally they have sponsored events, classes do things like haunted houses, cafés, some put on productions of plays, and some just make booths where people can play like carnival games."

"Sounds like a lot of fun," I said sarcastically as I walked onto the train. "But if what you say about sponsored events is true than I think I can make that work to my advantage."

"I don't like where this is going," Cassandra said walking onto the train after Kimiko. "But I'll humor you; what's that one-eyed head thinking up this time?"

"If we can sponsor a large fighting tournament we can ferret out the rogue," I said as the two girls looked at me with blank expressions in their eyes. "That bad, huh?"

"That's the thing, I think that can actually be a realistic plan except for one thing," Kimiko said as both she and Cassandra made pondering poses. "How do we sponsor it?"

"I was thinking about asking Quilava to help me with that detail," I said. "I just need some time off from school to go talk to him."

"Fat chance," Kimiko said while chuckling. "Our school barely allows time off from the campus. You'd be lucky to visit a relative in the hospital at this school."

"I think you're forgetting, I can go anywhere with no one knowing anything," I said pulling my mask out of my bag. "I just the need the first open opportunity."

"Don't expect our help in aiding a criminal," Cassandra said. "And don't think you can get off for this because you're trying to help a powerful figure from another world. That'll mean nothing to these people."

"I guess you gotta point there," I said as the train stopped and we stepped off. As we walked to the school I turned to face the bike rack but found it was empty. "That's weird."

"What is?" Cassandra asked.

"Tori wasn't in our room when I woke up and now his bike isn't here," I said. "If he's not in our room and not at school, where is he?"

"You know about the beginning of February I noticed that at least once a week he was absent for the first part of the school day," Kimiko noted. "And when he came back he always seemed exhausted like he had been somewhere and did a lot of activity."

"Has his dad said anything about it?" I asked turning around to face them.

"Actually last week before you came here he asked if Tori seemed weird in his demeanor," Kimiko said. "I just told him that he seemed overworked and he responded with if it happened again to have Tori come to him for a talk."

"You think Tori's in some kind of trouble?" Cassandra asked turning her face from the two of us.

"It's possible, but I can't be sure," I said. "Everything I've ever thought about the guy has turned out wrong. From him not being a Pokémon and a human with the worst diet imaginable and the physical form of an Olympian. At any rate we should get to class."

Running back to the school building I ran into my class just as it was starting stepping in just as the bell rang. Looking in the back of the room Tori wasn't in his seat and was nowhere in the classroom. As the teacher walked in behind us I slowly walked to the back of the class keeping my eyes on his seat.

"So he's absent again, huh?" the teacher said taking down the attendance. "Well he'll probably show up in a few hours. Will someone ask his father if everything is okay concerning Tori-kun?"

"Allow me," I said raising my hand while the teacher nodded in affirmation.

Closing the door behind me I chuckled as I walked through the hallway to the administration building. Opening the door I found only one person in it. He was a burly man with a black crew cut wearing a blue business suit. He turned in his chair to face me with the same eyes that reminded me of Tori.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm from your son Tori's class, the teacher sent me to tell you that your son's has an unexpected absence this morning, and would like to know if you have any idea why," I said bowing to him.

The man sighed depressively. "I have an idea," he said as I looked at him with my eye narrowing. "Tori is part of an underground band, I'm sure of it. He goes out with that group of hooligans and shirks on his schoolwork. And then he doesn't have the decency to tell me about it."

"He does have the highest grade in the school, sir," I said in reassurance as the man looked at me sharply. "Maybe he hasn't told you about it because he knows that you won't approve."

"I don't need some pirate wannabe telling me how to raise my son, now get out!" he shouted as I left and as I walked down the hall I looked back and forth.

Chuckling slightly I placed the mask on my face and passed through the wall to the outside of the school.

* * *

><p>While outside I placed my hands together and turned myself invisible and then running into downtown Tokyo.<p>

"_Kazan's Sushi, Kazan's Sushi," _I thought to myself as I walked silently down the streets trying to find the spot filled with the most people. _"Well I think this is the address, but something's up. It's empty."_

Just as I saw it, the entire restaurant was empty and with no decoration inside. I peered inside the windows for a better look to find no sign of Quilava or Froslass. I placed me hand on my head trying to think of a possible reason for Quilava's absence when a note fluttered down to my feet. Picking it up, I saw at the bottom Quilava's signature and instantly opened it up.

"Let's see here, as of today the Kazan Sushi shop is closed. Due to my return to the television life I have decided to take the rest of my time off to sightsee around Japan. For those of you wishing to find a place of equal quality in sushi I strongly suggest you go to Koban Sushi. The chef there is a personal friend of mine and he will make sure you are well taken care of," I said reading the note. "Perfect; no Quilava, no sponsorship of the event, now what?" I asked looking at the address of the shop that Quilava recommended. "Well, couldn't hurt to check it out. And if the chef is a personal friend of Quilava I have an idea on what that might mean."

Clapping my hands together again I turned back into an invisible state and walked secretly down to the address to the shop Quilava called "Koban Sushi."

"_Koban is the Japanese word for gold coin,"_ I thought as I tried my best to maneuver around people, local and tourist. _"I only knew Quilava for a few months before we were all sent here, but if my clues are a personal friend, sushi, and gold coin I have a pretty good idea as to who runs that shop."_

Arriving at the shop about twenty minutes later I opened the door when all eyes turned on me. I saw a general similarity in most of the patrons; a seemed to be wearing business suits with scruffy beards, and some with dark glasses hiding their eyes, but I could still tell that they all seemed to be staring at me. Behind the sushi bar I saw the chef wielding his knife much like Quilava did; masterfully. As he turned his face to stare at me I saw every detail and retained it to memory; he seemed short for his apparent age which I put as 16, his hair was shaggy and a pale blond color with six strands reaching behind his hair on both sides, he wore a yellow shirt hidden under a black jacket, regular blue jeans, and a pair of black tennis shoes left on the side of the door.

"Welcome," I heard a familiar voice say as I looked in front of me.

As the young girl lifted her head up from the bow I saw her to be Froslass that used to work for Quilava. She looked at me kindly and led me to the main bar motioning to a seat in front of the chef. She bowed again and left to tend to the other customers leaving me alone with the chef who looked up barely from his work to look back at me.

"He said you would come eventually," the boy said placing down his knives. "So what'll it be, the great chef Nyaro can cook you up anything."

"How about some answers," I said showing Nyaro the note. "The only thing that I can recognize is Quilava's signature; the rest of this note is probably a forgery. So did you write it for him, or is there something else going on?"

"He had to leave abruptly," Nyaro said driving his knife through another fish for a serving sushi. "He came by about three days ago; he said you'd be in Okinawa. He introduced Missy to me and requested that I give her a job. She's good at what she does so I didn't have a problem, but he left me a final message. That was to write that note in case you came back to his place and then come here."

"So that's it?" I asked expecting more raising an eyebrow.

"You don't trust me?" Nyaro asked.

"I make it a point not to trust Pokémon like your kind, Meowth," I said quietly so as not to alert the other customers.

"The hair tipped you off, huh?" he asked finishing the fish and then sticking the knife into the cutting board.

"No, the name Koban is based on a saying in Japanese that says that something unappreciated is like giving a cat a gold coin. Quilava described you as a personal friend, only he's never in town long enough to make new friends, and you're the only one who can fit all these parameters," I explained as Meowth shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe I should've picked a more inconspicuous name," Meowth said serving me the dish. "Maybe you should do the same, though."

"I know, they've been looking at me since I entered," I said shifting my head to side to look at the customers who all seemed to be looking at me except for one in the back.

He seemed much more muscular than the other people in the restaurant wearing a plain pale yellow t-shirt and a pair of dirty jeans. Looking up I saw his dark-bluish hair that fell almost over his eyes where it turned to a more red color. Sitting next to him was a young girl with long blonde hair wearing a frilly dress swinging her legs back and forth as the two paid me no mind as opposed to everyone else.

"This your usual audience to entertain?" I asked. "And do you ever worry about Froslass' safety?"

"I never really have to," Meowth said. "Yakuza only attack at night."

"Oh, and that's supposed to make me feel better?" I asked looking at him exasperated when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning in my seat I looked up and saw one of the men as he gritted his teeth. "Let me guess, it has to do with my eye patch?"

"Exactly, you're the enemy," he said rearing his fist back.

I reached into my coat pocket and held onto my mask as the man in front of me thrust his fist forward. Just as the fist made impact the man from back had gripped onto his fist a few inches from my face. To be honest, I felt like fainting, but the man in front of me exuded so much force that I would feel bad to pass out.

"He did nothing to you, just sit down and be civil," the man said in flawless English.

"What's with you foreigner?" the man asked not fully understanding the man's foreign speech.

"He said to sit down and be civil," Meowth said from behind the counter moving to the back of the kitchen.

"Yeah, right like I'd do that in front of the enemy," the man said releasing his fist from the other man's grip. "If you're with him than you're also my enemy," he said about to punch him.

The second man looked back at the young girl who looked up from her drink and nodded which made him smile as he grabbed the man's fist and moved off to one side. Forcing the man's arm downward the second man brought his knee up and impacted with the attackers gut. As he nonchalantly walked back to sit with who I assumed to be his younger sister the man patted her head angering the other customers. Just as the hoard attacked the two people a knife stuck into the wall in front of them and above the man's head. The mob looked back to see Meowth with his arm extended.

"I do not permit violence of any kind unless it's for self-defense," he declared with a loud voice I had never heard. "Now I suggest you leave before the police have something to ask all you gentlemen," he said holding up a small cell phone.

As the mob slowly cleared out of the restaurant me, Meowth, Froslass, who now was cleaning the floors and the two mystery people, were left alone in the shop in dead silence.

"I apologize for my rude actions," Meowth said in English looking towards the man in the back.

"There's no need," the man said. "Well, I think we'll take our leave. Sorry for the inconvenience."

As the two were about to leave the restaurant the little girl with the man walked up to me and stared at me for several seconds when she tugged on the man's sleeve.

"He's like you, Johan," she said as the two of us looked at each. "And the person behind the counter is the same, too."

The man she called Johan walked up to me and looked at Meowth with observing eyes when he backed away and looked at the small girl.

"You're right, Alice," he said smiling down at her. "Hey, can I ask that you wait in the car while I talk to these two?"

"Sure, but don't be too long," Alice said shaking her finger at him leaving the restaurant and straight into a long car parked outside the restaurant.

"Three at once," Johan said turning to face me, Froslass, and Meowth. "Never thought it could happen. I knew about Meowth from the start, but I guess ghost types are always harder to discern from other Pokémon."

"And you would be?" I asked.

"Call me Johan, a Typhlosion," Johan said introducing himself with a bow. "You could consider me that girl's guardian."

"So I take it she knows?" Meowth asked pulling his knife out of the wall.

"No," Typhlosion said sitting down. "She's only twelve; I can't bring a child that young into our world. I only stay with her because we both give something to each other. We both see each other as brother and sister to make up for the siblings we lost. When we came here I had to leave behind my younger brother and she lost her older brother many years ago. To her, I look almost exactly like that person so I took upon myself a name that she could easily remember and one that would allow us to give something to each other. Other than that, Pokémon affairs are completely unknown to her. And I'd like to keep it that way."

Typhlosion stood up with a sigh and began walking out and looked out at the closed window of Alice's seat.

"We're from England and I'd like to do something special for her so that when our time together is over she can have some great memories," he explained. "Her parents are usually overseas and she doesn't see them that often. To her, I'm the only family she ever gets to see. Her birthday, she said, is the beginning of March and when I asked her what she wanted she just said two things; a new flowered hat, and a chance to do something."

"I can give her that chance," I said from behind him as he turned around. "And you can tell her that it would go a long way to making a lot of your friends feel safe. I am currently searching for a rogue Pokémon and the only way to do that is to organize a fighting tournament, if you can sponsor it I can make all the arrangements."

"And this won't be a wasted effort?" Typhlosion asked pulling down on the door handle.

"If it is, you have my permission to brutally maim me," I said as Typhlosion chuckled.

"Sounds fair," he said walking out the door.

"_Part one complete,"_ I thought. _"And all it took was a girl who is more aware of the world around her."_

"It's children like that who should become this world's future leaders," Meowth said organizing his knives. "Selfless, watching, and caring."

"I have to be going," I said walking out of the door and then turning myself invisible. "Thanks for the information by the way."

"Wait," Froslass said quietly as I walked back in barely visible. "Quilava said this was your only available clue."

Holding out her hands a bell fell into mine and chimed in my hand. I stared at it for several seconds and then hid it in my coat before leaving the restaurant.

* * *

><p>By the time I returned to school it was already past the end of the school day meaning that I was in deep dirt. Returning to visibility after entering my own room and sighed out of relief with the bell clenched in my hand.<p>

"This is my clue, huh?" I asked myself as the door handle jiggled behind me. I quickly pulled off my mask and hid it under my mattress as Tori walked in with a wiped out expression on his face as I placed the small silver bell in my pocket.

"So where were you?" he asked climbing the ladder to his bed.

"I was there for the first part, but then I had to run an errand," I answered not fully lying. "Better yet, where were you this morning?"

"That's my own business, not yours," he said turning his body in the bed.

"I think you're father wants it to be his business as well," I said as Tori's eyes popped open.

"So, he's still spreading the rumor that I'm in a punk band, is he?" Tori said relaxing.

Before I could answer a knock sounded at the door and I went to answer it. Opening the door I saw Tori's father facing me head-on with Tori still looking away from the door. The large man motioned for me to come outside with him.

"Technically what I'm about to ask you is strictly against school rules," the man said quietly into my ear.

"And that would be?"

"I want you, next week, to follow my son to wherever it is he goes and take pictures for me as to what he's doing," he said holding onto my collar.

"What reason would I have for doing that? Tori's my classmate."

"I'm willing to pay normal detective rates."

"You want those pictures in black/white or in color?" I asked rubbing my hands together. "But let's be clear here, I'm only going to tell you what I see when I do this, alright?"

"Whatever, I just need to know the truth," the man said straightening my collar for me and walking away.

"_Great, I fell like a regular detective now. Doing things just for the money. Who knows, maybe something interesting will show up."_

As I walked back in the room I saw Tori out of his bed and in the kitchen area slurping his noodles contently as he regained his vigor quite easily.

"So out of curiosity, how're things going with the festival?" I asked trying to make friendly conversation.

"Okay, I guess," Tori said finishing off his noodles. "The class wants to do some kind of café, but I don't know. The planning committee has a two day event opening still that needs filling up. Have any ideas?"

I chuckled while raising my eyebrow and relayed my idea to Tori in broad terms who thought about it for several minutes asking me questions on regulations, time limits, and all the various aspects of the tournament. By the end of it Tori was already willing to speak to planning committee on the basis of my idea and was already walking out the door.

"This is going to be easier than I thought," I said pulling a cup of chicken noodles from the depleting source that I had started with since coming here.

* * *

><p>The following week was a fast one. Tori spent most of homeroom out of class with the planning committee trying to sell my idea to them which resulted in a large success for the idea. As for myself I tried for three days to get in touch with Quilava through cell phone and via a webcam installed on my computer. When that proved useless I began calling other Pokémon that I had met along the way and asked them for ideas. When I found that none of them had any ideas I called one last Pokémon via my webcam and groaned when I saw the face on the other end.<p>

"And you're the one who called me up," Blaziken said on the other end with his arms crossed on the screen.

"Shut-up," I said rubbing my eyes from tiredness. "Out of curiosity have you seen Quilava? I saw that you were in Japan on your last parkour video so I thought you were still in the area."

"Yeah, I'm in the Tokyo area right now," Blaziken said looking out at the scenery. "I heard from Cassandra yesterday about this whole tournament thing and I hope this works for you. On another note, how are things going between you and your girlfriend?"

"Who said anything about a girlfriend?" I asked. "And better yet, who?"

"You're kidding, right?" he asked looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Meowth told me all about that girl you saved. Froslass even mentioned how this must be so hard for Cassandra."

"I'm going to close my laptop now for two reasons; one, you're being psychotic, and two, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said shutting the laptop screen. _"Okay, so no one's seen Quilava in about four days, based on the interested parties I'm assuming a lot of these Pokémon are going to be trying out for this tournament. And out of them will be one rogue Pokémon to boot. The only thing left on my agenda for the foreseeable future is to become some glorified photographer for Tori's dad."_

The next few days of the week were spent with the females in our class trying on various maid costumes and the males in our class trying on different waiter suits which made me feel more ridiculous than usual being in the school uniform.

"Why do you put up with this?" I asked looking over at Tori.

"For two reasons," Tori said lying back in his chair while straightening his tie. "With girls, there's no winning, and two it's considered a legitimate business so it gets us some spending money. Just go with the flow."

"_Prepare to die,"_ I thought raising my eyebrow in twitching fashion.

* * *

><p>The day of my spying came all too soon as I knew it would cause a human friend to distrust me if he knew what I was going to do. I decided to go to bed earlier and then follow him out as he left by a good hundred feet.<p>

After Tori walked in to find me already asleep he chuckled and reached into his bag and grabbed two long objects and stuffed them in his pocket. He took off his school uniform and placed on a light blue dress shirt with a black vest over it, a pair of black slacks, and a loosely fit red neck tie and walked out of the dorm and as the door shut behind me my cue was given to begin my reconnaissance. Following him down the stairs I never was able to catch a glimpse of what he placed in his pocket.

Reaching the outside I placed my mask over my face and turned invisible as Tori unlocked his bike from the long chain latched around it. After wrapping the chain around the main body and locking it in place he jumped onto the bike and sped down the street lighting his path with a bright light attached to the handle bar.

Following him using Shadow Sneak I found that we stopped at a nightclub that housed many adults like the ones who attacked me in the sushi shop. Sneaking into a back room that Tori walked through after showing a card to two largely muscled men. Inside I found Tori simply cracking his knuckles and placing the hood over his head and the two red spots reaching perfectly over his eyes. A young girl walked in front of me wearing a light sky blue dress and talking to Tori in a familiar voice. Looking around the corner I saw the dress was in a corset style at the top of it and in layers around the waist with a snowflake design sewn into it.

"_I don't believe it,"_ I thought ducking out of the dressing room and then sneaking into the main club room. _"Froslass?"_

Thinking back to what I had just seen I had indeed saw Froslass talking to Tori while wearing something completely unrelated to her normal work clothes.

"_Okay, this complicates matters, but assuming they are performers they won't stop in the middle and call me out,"_ I thought as the curtains in front of the stage opened up with what I thought was an unusual set-up; a drum set in the back of the stage, a large upright bass, a guitar in the corner, a piano to its side, three rows of elevated seats where four people sat in each row holding up a set of saxophones in the first, trombones in the second, and trumpets in the third, and finally, and a lone microphone in the center stage._ "What is this?"_

As the curtains fully opened a tall lanky man with dark purple hair styled into spikes at the top, sparkling eyes with a tear drop tattoo underneath wearing a white long sleeved shirt with a purple vest over it with fake gems sewed in, black pants and black buckled shoes picked up the bass and began plucking at a few of its strings. The piano on the side of the guitar had its bench pulled out from under the keyboard with Meowth wearing a tan jacket and slacks with black dress shoes sitting down on it. The drums were then taken by Tori who tapped the cymbals with one of the two sticks he pulled out of his pocket. The center microphone was taken by Froslass who gave a cheerful smile to the customers in the club. I waited for the final spot to be taken, but as it was I shuddered out of fear. The black arm extended behind the curtain and gripped onto the neck of the guitar and the figure stepped out with a black dress shirt, black slacks, and a blue neck tie.

"_Cofagrigus," _I said to myself as the Australian street performer took the stage wearing a pair of black gloves.

I took pictures for about five minutes and then tried to leave but found my passage blocked by several people crowding the door as the band in front of me started playing. Playing the drums with a small swing beat Tori looked at the rest of the band with a large smile on his face as the rest of the instruments began playing. Froslass began snapping her fingers in time as she started singing in a velvety tone for about three minutes.

After the song finished Froslass blushed while the audience applauded as the band began playing again and continued for about an hour after that with Froslass singing every other song. The band ended their time and left the stage as Cofagrigus looked out to the audience and seemed to stare straight at me with a face of disapproval.

I left through the main entrance while still invisible when I snuck back to the dressing room to get more information on Tori when I saw the thin man who played the bass walk out with a chuckle while his eyes sparkled in the night.

"_He's a Sableye," _I thought out of realization as he turned his stare to me and stopped and tipped an imaginary hat to what other people saw as nothing. _"Yep, definitely a Sableye. Only they are so dapper when in the presence of another ghost type. That's another thing, why was Cofagrigus here? I haven't seen him since my outburst and he seemed disinterested in me ever since. And yet he gave me that stink eye when he turned to me. Meowth, Froslass, and Tori were also in the band's main section, but I can't understand why."_

Walking to the back door I noticed some of the men from the club trying to sneak into the back as they were whispering on the subject of Froslass. As they were about to break the door down they, along with me, heard a coin being flipped into the air. The coin landed in a stranger's hand as the arm led up to Meowth's face.

"Hey, what's with this guy?" one of them asked. "Now were gonna pound you for what happened earlier."

"How much you willing to bet?" he asked as he flipped the coin once more as it shined in the night alleyway. "Payday…" he said under his breath with a furry of small coins being projected from the one he threw.

Within seconds the group of men were subdued and Meowth already on his way still flipping the coin up and down.

"_So that's it, huh? He came to protect Froslass. Good choice in a boss Quilava."_

Peering inside I saw Tori with a man wearing purple shaded sunglasses and an outdated leisure suit. The man handed him a check made out for, to my surprise, 15000 yen (which amounts for about $150) and went on his way.

"Thanks again Toriyama-san," he said walking away.

"Thank you for these kind services," Tori said bowing to the man.

"_Tori_yama_," _I thought as Tori walked away and mounted his bike. _"Why name somebody with the same first name as the first part of their last name? Unless, Tori's just a nickname. Why go by a pseudonym that's directly based off of his last name? This guy is more interesting than the Pokémon I've met."_

Continuing to follow him down the open road I ducked behind a dimmed lamppost Tori stopped at a darkened building and dismounted his bike. He sat with his back up against the stone gate that probably said its name but was too dark to read. He sighed and looked at the stars and stayed awake all night never even trying to doze off.

* * *

><p>As morning came I continued to watch Tori who was still waiting by the stone gate with his back still resting up against it. I looked over at the sign and saw that it read, "Fujimoto Orphanage." I looked back at Tori who shuffled through his pocket and looked out at the building when he saw a woman walking out from the door onto the paved path towards the gate. Tori stood up and handed her the check and bowed to her.<p>

"Looks like I got an advance on my paycheck," he said. "15000 yen."

The woman gasped with delight and flung her arms around Tori's neck. She released him and asked him to come inside.

"Sorry, I gotta get to school. I've already gotten into enough trouble for being late on my delivery days," he said walking to the corner and grabbing his bike.

"Are you sure, Toriyama-kun?" the woman asked still looking at the check. "The kids love it when you come and visit."

Just as she said this a group of maybe six or seven young children came running out to meet him all exclaiming, "Tori-nii!" They dragged him inside the building and I placed my camera down and looked at the pictures saved there. In all of them I found something that I could almost never find Tori doing in real life; smiling. I chuckled as I deleted all the pictures from my camera and returned to school.

* * *

><p>After reaching the school I was approached by Tori's father who shook me down and asked what I had found out. I pushed him away and shrugged my shoulders.<p>

"Like I said to you last week," I started. "I would only tell you what I saw. And I saw a person who would make any father proud."

Confused as to the meaning Tori's father stepped back and walked away.

"_Toriyama,"_ I thought. _"A man of mystery; he plays the drum kit for a jazz band that regularly plays at a night club, he hangs out with some of the safest people I could recommend, and he's the most selfless person ever. I wonder what would become of this world is everyone had even a tenth of the kindness he shows to least fortunate. If he were ever to fight it would be for the right cause. I apologize Tori; I came here thinking you were a rogue, only to find that you are a knight."_

Looking out the window of my classroom I saw the form of Typhlosion and the young girl he guards. He gave me a thumbs-up and motioned for me to come out with him as though he were trying to show me something. I smirked already knowing what he needed to show or tell me.

"_I came to Japan and took this job for Arceus and thought I would be miserable, but now I see that in coming here I have grown much more as an individual, as a human, and as I always will be, a Pokémon."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Meowth played by Comcfan616

Froslass played by Mew-Mew Pachirisu

Typhlosion played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Blaziken played by Comicfan616 (talk about a versatile actor)

Sableye played by The Helpless Romantic

Cofagrigus played by Umbrafox

* * *

><p>Chapter thirteen complete. Whoo, that was long, but I guess I tried to put too much in at once to try to get into some more of the characters I've been given. I hope you all like how your OCs are being portrayed for those whose OCs have appeared. Rest assured for some of you that you're OC will have its final verdict by the tenth…I hope. Until then wait in anticipation for the next installment of Walking Among Us.<p>

Chapter fourteen preview: With the festival quickly approaching and the mysteries of the academy coming to light Duskull and his friends meet friends both old and new from everywhere they've ever gone in preparation for this momentous occasion. Next time: Meeting with Humans.


	15. Meeting with Humans

Here's chapter fourteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Just like last chapter expect massive OCness both old and new and also a bit more into some of the characters that I introduced previously. Oh, and by the way a little explanation on the band that has Tori, Froslass, Meowth, Cofagrigus, and the newly introduced Sableye; for an example the kind of jazz they play I suggest looking up this music; Winter Bell from Detective Conan, and for another reference and another example try Get A Chance from Mahou Sensei Negima. Thank you for reading this story so faithfully I really appreciate it.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Meeting with Humans<p>

"_Probably the most reliable Pokémon a person or another Pokémon can ever meet is what humans in my world deem, a starter. While they come in as many different personalities you can always tell which Pokémon is a person's first based on the masterful execution of some of the moves they use. From the Pokémon I've met that can be deemed this way I can see why they're the Pokémon that people start their journeys with."_

It had only been a week since I asked Typhlosion to help me sponsor the tournament and there he was in front of me with a confident smile while Alice clutched onto his hand with an excited look on her face. I walked up to him and led him inside the school building as his large stature commanded most of the attention of the students, mostly female.

"A real charmer, aren't you?" I asked as we reached my classroom.

As we stepped into the classroom the entire class turned their attention onto the large man who walked in with the little girl in tow. He smiled warmly at the students as most of the girls swooned at his appearance receiving a negative reaction from the males in the class. Tori turned to face Typhlosion for only a few seconds and then went back to work stringing up a banner that read, "Sakura Gakuen Class 2-C Café."

"Can I talk to you in private, with your two friends?" Typhlosion asked looking at Cassandra and Kimiko. "Alice, can I ask that you stay here and play with the students here?"

Alice nodded and let go of Typhlosion's hand and ran into the class and dug through the chest of costume some of the girls were still trying on.

"Alice," I said averting her attention. "If you have any problems go to Tori," I said pointing at Tori who was sitting on his desk while looking at a clipboard and scratching his head.

* * *

><p>While outside Typhlosion led the tree of us and stopped after reaching a back area of the school and sighed while breathing in the air.<p>

"There's something that's been bothering me for the past week," I started as Typhlosion sat down on a curbstone. "How is it that Alice can discern Pokémon?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Typhlosion said looking back through the window of the class to find Alice laughing with all the other girls. "I like to think it's her innocence. In many cases, even on our world, children are more insightful and are able to discern things from magic to reality."

"Getting back to topic," Cassandra said. "Why did you want to talk to us?"

"Because you two are the only humans on this earth to date to have knowledge of the world of Pokémon," Typhlosion answered. "With the construction of the fighting stage underway there's one area of concern that needs to be addressed."

"And that would be?" Kimiko asked.

"Several things span from this concern," Typhlosion looking up at the sky. "But to sum it all up; if Duskull's plan does work then we'll have at least sixteen Pokémon battling each other using powers the likes of humans on this earth have ever seen. So I need to place a limiter as to how much power the Pokémon are to be allowed without people getting suspicious."

"So you need to know how much humans can take in." Cassandra confirmed as Typhlosion nodded.

"Well, people around here can take a lot actually," Kimiko said as we all turned to face her. "Yeah, this school is visited by ghost hunters, and supernatural enthusiasts."

"And I thought the students here were weird," I said. "So you're saying that people wouldn't be surprised to see something like this/" I said holding up my finger with a small fireball being produced from it.

"Maybe a little bit, but they'll believe it to be a staged event," Kimiko said reassuring to us all. "So does that ease a bit of the tension?"

"A little bit," Typhlosion said. "The last thing is I wanted to know if you were aware that a large number of Pokémon are coming to this festival. Some from international areas."

"I anticipated that," I said. "But as for their housing, that'll be up to them. If that's all then I think we should get back before we mistake Alice for a very large doll," I said looking back into the class to see Alice all dressed up by the girls. "And it better be fast."

"Alice!" Typhlosion shouted seeing the scene and running to the class through the open window.

"Oh, this can only go wrong so many ways," I said going after him.

* * *

><p>The next morning came quickly meaning that time was not going to be kind to us in the last days before the festival began. Entering the classroom by myself since Tori, Cassandra, and Kimiko had all gone ahead of me I opened the door only to be met by a loud chorus of, "Welcome back!"<p>

Recoiling back out the door I saw an entire row of girls in maid costumes also consisting of Kimiko and Cassandra.

"You're not in this class!" I said angrily to Cassandra. "And what's with this 'welcome back,' stuff?"

"My class goes into other classes by their choice to help out and it's a proper greeting for a café," Cassandra explained.

Looking at the back of the room I found Tori, in his casual clothes consisting of greenish blue cargo pants, a plain red shirt, and a thin blue blazer, with his feet propped on the desk and chuckling while looking at me.

"Don't make me come over there," I said pointing at him.

"You sound like a disgruntled mother with her children," Tori said launching himself from the desk by pushing his hands against the seat. "And besides, the theme for our class is a café and the girls need to practice."

"What if female patrons come in?" I asked.

"The girls greet all the customers and then we take over when necessary," Tori explained shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, by the way, Itzal, that kid Saru was looking for you. I think he's out in the courtyard of the dorms."

"Thanks," I said leaving the room after setting my bag down.

"_Why does Infernape want to talk to me?"_ I asked myself while walking down the halls. _"Since our struggle in Okinawa we pretty much have gone our separate ways, but he _is _an Infernape. From what I know about his kind is that one is always chosen to undertake a great journey with a human until some time that the human deems him unnecessary. At that time if the Infernape, or any of those other Pokémon, learn a certain move they become an envoy for one of the weather trio, I think."_

Coming out of the school I closed the door behind and waited at the train station for the next arriving line.

"_It's never clear as to why the weather trio would choose Pokémon from a different region, but I think it works like this. Empoleon can become the envoy of Kyogre, Torterra becomes Groudon's envoy, and Infernape can be an envoy for Rayquaza. The relationship between the two Pokémon is said to make a bridge across the relationship between Sinnoh and Hoenn. The connections between Empoleon and Kyogre and Torterra and Groudon are obvious, but no Pokémon is ever sure why Rayquaza would want to have a fire and fighting type as his envoy. Some Pokémon speculate that it's based on the equalizing factor between the three Pokémon and their envoys. Maybe I can bring that up when I see him."_

Dismounting the train I walked back to the dorm still thinking about the stance that, what people call, the Sinnoh starters have in the Pokémon world. Reaching the dorm I waved my arm widely where I saw Infernape doing the same. Walking up to him I noticed he wasn't alone; to his right I saw a large heavy set and muscular African American man with short black hair wearing a brown sweat-shirt underneath a green jacket with a rock and tree sewn onto both sides of his chest, heavy brown gloves, black jeans, and a pair of leather boots, and on his left I saw a young woman with long black hair with a small blue tint, a swimmer's build, with a slight tan wearing a long sleeved dark blue shirt under a light blue jacket, blue cargo pants, and a pair of black boots. Infernape I saw was wearing his usual outfit of a long sleeved white shirt and brown cargo pants with a pair of brown tennis shoes.

"_Well, I guess he's like Typhlosion,"_ I thought. _"It's hard for them to feel any sensation of a chill. Even though it is still February."_

Walking up to the group I noticed that Infernape was the shortest and youngest among them and the woman was around my age with being about three to five inches shorter, and the man was about three inches taller than me.

"You wanted to see me, Infernape?" I asked looking down at him.

"Exactly, but before that, Duskull, meet Forrest the Torterra and Mizu the Empoleon," he said as the man simply lowered his head slightly and the girl smiled at me while waving.

"All three?" I asked quietly. "Well is there anything else you want with me?"

"Actually," Torterra said in a deep voice. "Since coming here we've noticed that some weird things are constantly happening."

"Define 'weird.'"

"What we mean is unexplained happenings," Empoleon said. "And we just want to know if these things were anything we had to worry about."

"Explain everything to me," I said sitting down. "I came all the way here from the school and I just want to make sure that this is worth my while."

"These two came from a nearby high school to check out the festival," Infernape said nodding towards Empoleon. "And the big guy came all the way from America at a park called Yellowstone. I've kept in touch with both of them since I found their profiles on a website and when they heard about this festival and the supernatural things this school is famous for they had to come."

"Okay, I'm starting to get this now, but what's been happening?" I asked as Torterra sat down.

"It started after I came here," he said. "Empoleon had just gotten here and was living in one of the unoccupied girl's dorms. Anyway, we all met each other outside and all of a sudden I felt this huge upsurge of power and out of nowhere I blasted a Leaf Storm into the air without my volition."

"_That must've been when I was gone for the night following Tori," _I thought. "Continue."

"Well, after that we were about to go back to the dorms where Torterra would stay with Infernape, and I was alone," Empoleon explained. "And while I was alone I felt something wrong and without my knowing my hand turned into a Metal Claw. I was able to force it out before anything was damaged."

"And you Infernape?" I asked.

"As far as I can tell, nothing's happened to me," he said trying to think. "I mean I've felt a little queasy every now again, but that just might be the food. Our question is if this is anything to worry about."

I made a thinking pose and stayed quiet for about three minutes before my reply.

"_Offhand, I'd say this was caused by exposure to three beings such as yourself," _I thought. _"But if what Kimiko said about this place true, there's a reservoir of supernatural here that could turn any one of us into unstoppable and unwilling weapons of destruction. Just after a preliminary hearing of testimonies I can't be sure of anything, but the most likely scenario is that it's because the three of them haven't gotten used to their human bodies and therefore the reaction between all three of them caused the large upsurges of power."_

"No, I think you guys are fine, but stay within a reasonable distance from each other until you can take the presence of all three of you at once," I said walking away. "And Infernape? You're late for class."

Slapping his forehead in realization Infernape ran ahead of me and jumped over buildings to get to school. I chuckled and looked back at the two where Torterra was now a playing a leaf whistle and Empoleon was still waving goodbye with a wide smile still on her face.

"_I'm sorry I lied,"_ I thought. _"The truth is I know what's happening to you three; since coming here you've been forced to hide your powers from humans and therefore bottled up the power of the weather trio's envoys. It's true that you three came into too close of contact and your cores reacted to it in that way, but when Empoleon's Metal Claw activated it was because there's a natural reservoir of supernatural at this academy making a hot spot for enthusiasts. During this festival we can let no more incidents like this happen. It'll be the most dangerous at the fighting tournament when at the least, sixteen Pokémon will be in attendance and the supernatural well will go on a fritz and cause even more people danger."_

While on the train alone I continued to think about the implications this could cause.

"_In reality, these incidents won't happen as often, but Pokémon like those three, Cofagrigus, and myself are at the highest risk of having this happen to us, but we have to be the ones to protect the others, especially the humans who know about us."_

* * *

><p>As the days counted down all the faster I found that no other Pokémon had come to the academy and that Typhlosion, Alice, Kimiko, and Cassandra had left earlier for a secret reason that they were unwilling to tell me.<p>

I wandered out the school and went to Meowth's sushi shop and was greeted by Froslass who, upon seeing me, blushed a deep shade of red and ran to the back of the restaurant. I stood flabbergasted and walked to the main bar where Meowth was busily working and noticed me as I sat down.

"If you're wondering about Froslass, it's because we know you were there at the performance a few nights ago," he explained. "After Sableye told her about it she blushed like a madwoman and locked herself in the dressing room and didn't come out until morning."

"Why would she be embarrassed, I enjoyed it," I said as I heard a small crash inside the kitchen.

Looking back into the kitchen Meowth turned his attention back to me. "Don't worry, she just dropped a glass."

"I'll say this, girls are weird," I said taking a platter of sushi and helping myself. "Out of curiosity, you coming to the festival next week?"

"Maybe," he said. "If Froslass ever gets over it."

"And, have you seen any others?" I asked grasping at straws for a chance to find the rogue.

"Look behind you," Meowth said turning my body on the rotating chair.

In front of me were two girls; one was all too familiar in her white sweater, black pants, boots and gloves, and her long necklace Glaceon looked back at me with a cheerful smile and wave, the girl next to her was about the same age as Glaceon with a slim figure with black hair styled in a high pony tail with ruffled bangs and two strands extending down to her shoulders wearing a black sweater, a yellow and black skirt with a pair of black tights underneath.

"Nice to see you again," Glaceon said. "Duskull this is Mariposa, she's a Beautifly from Beverly Hills."

"You in the upper-crust?" I asked as she looked up at me making the clip in her hair visible. _"Beautifly wings. That must be her Enabler."_

"Not exactly," she said. "I just live in that area, but for some reason everyone there seems to hate me. And whenever I take things from the local stores a loud alarm switches on and everyone chases after me. I mean, I know I'm beautiful, but there's a fine line between admiration and just plain insanity."

"How dense can a person be?" I whispered to Glaceon who simply chuckled.

"Give her a break, it's taken her forever to get used to the idea that you have to pay for things before you can take them out of the store," Glaceon explained as Beautifly looked at the two of us and smiled slyly.

"So what's going on between you two?" she asked nudging Glaceon with her elbow.

"I don't know how to process that," I said as Meowth began chuckling behind the counter watching the scene with his head propped up by his hand.

"Nothing's going on between us!" Glaceon shouted quickly while clutching the necklace and blushing. "More importantly," Glaceon said changing the subject. "Did you say anything about a festival to Meowth?"

"I did," I said as the two girls squealed with delight. "Did I miss something?"

"Girls get excited about festivals a lot," Meowth said as Froslass poked her head up from the counter with a slightly excited look on her face. "See?"

"I'm going to leave for several reasons, but chief of them is that I find this place creepy," I said leaving the shop as Froslass sighing out of relief. _"Well, let's see, I've met a large number of Pokémon just in the past few weeks, which can be a good thing. But if the past in any indication then I won't be able to find the rogue by these day to day meetings. I have to find more Pokémon."_

* * *

><p>I made it back to the school at about six o clock at night after scouring the entire city for other Pokémon. My quest proved in futility as I reached the inside of the gates. Before I could reach my dorm Cassandra and Kimiko met me and motioned for me to go with them. We walked back to the classroom where they entered the classroom and told me to stay put. As they went in they told me to come in a few seconds later. I walked into a completely darkened room where the lights suddenly flipped on with several noise poppers going off at once.<p>

"Surprise!" a whole group of people shouted at once.

I stayed stationary as though nothing happened as I looked around the room to find more than a few familiar faces; Blaziken, Absol, Charizard, Pikachu, the Sableye from a few nights ago, Glaceon and Beautifly, Meowth, Froslass who was still blushing while looking at me, Cofagrigus who showed a slight smile, Drowzee from the school back in England, Umbreon, Infernape, Torterra, Empoleon, Bayleef, Kirlia, and in the center of them all Typhlosion and Quilava. I walked through the group and looked up at Typhlosion who smiled down at me and then I turned to Quilava who smiled in a similar fashion. I brought my hand up making everyone expect that I would pat his shoulder only to see me punch him across the face.

"Man! You have no idea how good that felt!" I shouted as both Quilava began laughing out of pure insanity. "Moreover, what is all this, and how did you all get here?"

"Typhlosion's little friend sprung for our flight here," Blaziken explained. "Well, for those who weren't here before."

"And we liked to say that the vast majority will be participating in your search for the rogue," Absol said.

"Enough talk, I came here to celebrate," Pikachu said as large boom box set was turned on and the rest of the night turned into a dance fest.

As everyone was still dancing, eating snacks, and generally just having a good time I walked out of the class with a drink in hand.

"_Arceus,"_ I thought. _"You sent us all here to test what you called a silly faith in dreams. What's the silliest thing right now is probably the fact that you've lost and so far I've only met less than twenty of these Pokémon."_

Cassandra and Kimiko met me outside and hailed me back inside the classroom.

"_I want to thank you to all of you, but as a Pokémon who doesn't know who, I extend my gratitude to you the only way I know how to; by just continuing on. I found that in life, anyone's life, it is the greatest gift of all."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Typhlosion played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Infernape played by Bionicleguru

Empoleon played by Timberstar

Torterra played Comicfan616

Meowth played by Comicfan616

Froslass played by Mew-Mew Pachirisu

Glaceon played by sarah94306

Beautifly played by Penny Tee13

Blaziken played by Comicfan616

Absol played by Raimaru13

Charizard played by Timberstar

Pikachu played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Sableye played by The Helpless Romantic

Cofagrigus played by Umbrafox

Kirlia played by LunaHozuki666

Bayleef played by Kitsunelover300

Quilava played by Bionicleguru

* * *

><p>Chapter fourteen complete. I know this wasn't one of my better chapters but I was having a case of writer's block all week and I wanted to get this chapter up so I could do this. The following list is the list of all the accepted OCs listed by usernames and then the Pokémon's codename.<p>

* * *

><p>A Half Empty Glass: Maris<p>

Alicelouise'x: Briana

Bamboo Tonfas: Azu

Bamboo Tonfas: Axel

Bionicleguru: Kazan

Bionicleguru: Saru

Bionicleguru: Veleno

Comicfan616: Flash Fyre

Comicfan616: Forrest

Comicfan616: Nyaro

Cyanide Sneasel: Liko

Darkraiblast: Derek Anderson

Dragoonian: Temno Ubiitsa

Dragoonian: Zamorozhennye Dukha

Gatechild: Fubuki

Gatechild: Angel

HollowShinigamiGirl7: Pepe

HollowShinigamiGirl7: Alex

HollowShinigamiGirl7: Lucy

Kistunelover300: Lily

Kitsunelover300: Liz

Kistunelover300: Reikon

LunaHozuki666: Hanna

LunaHozuki666: Danny

Mew Mew Pachirisu: Missy

Mew Mew Pachirisu: Yuuri

Mossyhairundys: Latisha

Nightfall00: Itzal

Nightfall00: Hagane

Nightfall00: Tsubasa

Overlord Kog: Gespenst

Overlord Kog: Ginger

Penny Tee 13: Mariposa

Rabbid Madwoman: Andy

Raimaru13: Catastrophe

Sarah94306: Diamond Lunar Wind

Soaring Crow Ver2.0: Johan

Soaring Crow Ver2.0: Aeria

The Guardian 1412: Kusa Kurai

The Guardian 1412: Agata

The Helpless Romantic: Id

The Helpless Romantic: Hemlock

The Helpless Romantic: Keeps

Timberstar: Phyrrus

Timberstar: Jazz

Timberstar: Mizu

Umbrafox: Defectus

Umbrafox: Tempest

XiXIXiX: Thanatos

XiXIXiX: Icarus

* * *

><p>Chapter fifteen preview: As the festival begins tension rises as the preliminaries for the tournament start. Especially with an entire menagerie of Pokémon battling it out with some of the strongest humans in Japan. Next time: Fighting with Humans, Prologue.<p> 


	16. Fighting with Humans, Prologue

Here's chapter fifteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now comes the fun part of the story; the tournament prelims where we see so many new OCs that will be introduced. Be ready to read between the lines to get the major points and the number of the characters. Just as a heads up there will be thirty two of the fifty Pokémon sent to me used in the main tournament rounds, Duskull is not one of them so we get to see some more interesting battles.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Fighting with Humans, Prologue<p>

Fireworks launched into the air as the morning light came manifesting as small puffs of smoke as the streets to the academy were lit up with the many student run stalls, lights flipping on in the class rooms, and the many faces that were visiting the academy looking for a good time. As for me, and the rest of my class, it was our work day. Tori explained this to me earlier in the morning; due to the limited number of ideas for some classes days in which cafés will be open are set on a rotation system, our class has the first day for the shift. The only consolation to this is that I get the next two days off to check around for different instances that point to the rogue. Until then, I'm stuck here.

It didn't take long for the customers to come, and when they came, they came. I looked out the class window and saw the long line extending from one side of the hall to the main door gate.

"_Oh boy,"_ I thought as we started to allow customers in.

Just as Tori said we were assigned to customers of the opposite gender and they came in varying amounts. To be honest thought, there wasn't much for me to do as the sight of my eye patch became off putting for many of the customers. I chuckled at this since I didn't have to do as much work while Tori was called for most by female customers.

"_Some guys got it, some don't," _I thought as I walked outside the class. _"It's weird though, the only two people who have ever reacted positively to my eye patch have been Kimiko and Cassandra. Kimiko thought it was cosplay so she never saw it as off putting, and Cassandra kinda has a thing for guys who wear one. But everywhere I go there are people that are scared of me because of my eye patch. It's what I get for being a Duskull in this world."_

As I walked down the line to get an approximate count I passed a girl who stared at me shyly from the eye patch side. I could see her out of the corner of my visible eye as a girl about Cassandra's age and height, with pale skin, and short purple hair with a yellow X shaped clip holding it wearing a heavy violet coat with a white scarf, yellow one fingered gloves, black pants, and purple boots. After I walked back to the class the girl was following me with her eyes when I turned around to look at her.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

"It's nothing, but you look so good in that eye patch. Is it cosplay?" she asked blushing while trying to avert eyes.

"No, it's for the intended purpose," I said beginning to walk back.

"How long is the wait from this point?" she asked from about ten feet away.

"I'd estimate to be about twenty minutes," I said turning back to look at her.

"I hope you'll be free at that time!" she shouted at me as I walked in the classroom and she hid her face in her hands as she began to blush again.

"_Well that was odd,"_ I thought. _"Knowing my luck she's a human that'll find about me. But that clip, could it be, nah."_

* * *

><p>After about twenty minutes the girl came in embarrassed and looked around the room at all the boys introducing themselves. She looked towards the window and saw me sitting on the window sill out at the festivities taking place. She pointed through the group at me and said quietly, "Could I request him?"<p>

Cassandra took her hand and led her to me as I turned my face to look at her with a warm smile. I took her hand and bowed her as a knight would to a princess. The customers and students alike her amazed at the gallantry showed by my entrance as a sudden sensation filled my spine as I looked back up at her as she was still blushing out of embarrassment.

"Are you by yourself?" I asked. She nodded. "Good. I need to talk to you when I complete your order."

She sat anxious at the table as most of the eyes of the male students were on her and then at me as I was busily cooking her meal. I looked out at the scene and the looks that seemed confused from the students more than likely as to why the young girl would want me to be her server.

"_No wonder she's so afraid. She's one of _them_,"_ I thought finishing it up and taking it to her.

Placing the cup of coffee in front of her and the cake next to it I sat down in front of her as she nervously took a sip of it and placed back on the plate.

"You miss your current home, don't you?" I asked. "Drifloon?"

"I prefer Reikon," she said. "But how did you?"

"Simple logic," I said quietly so the other students couldn't hear. "It works like this; first you have a natural fear of humans based on your preference for me to be your server. Second, the clip in your hair is based on a similar characteristic on the Pokémon you are. And the final reason having identified you as either the Pokémon you are or your evolution is your blush. As predominant ghost types we are generally not susceptible to the emotions of embarrassment unless we are still in a base form that has yet to train their emotions or they have not yet evolved. Therefore you are a Drifloon. You are also one of the Old Chateau Drifloon; they are a generally more timid group of Drifloon due to a large amount of special training from your leader, Drifblim. You are taught only about the fearful strength that humans can use and are therefore more expected to scare them. How close am I?"

"On the nose," she said cutting her cake with the fork and taking a bite of it. "I came here to test if I was really cursed."

The word rang through my skull louder and louder at the sound of it. I shook it off as I got up to take her used dish for the cake back to the back kitchen when a tall man stopped me.

"Allow me," he said with a charismatic smile that made most of the girls swoon.

"No, allow me," I said taking the plate back. "Sableye…" I said under my breath as I passed by him.

By the time I came back he was sitting down with Drifloon and looked back at me with a cheerful wave.

"So why are you here?" I asked. "I already know two things about you; you can play the bass, and you can charm six girls at once into a stupor."

"Well actually, I am a watch maker," he said showing off a diamond studded watch he had secured in a box. "I'm supposed to show it to some wealthy conglomerates to sell, but we'll see how it goes."

"Not what I meant," I said.

"I know what you meant," Sableye said cracking his knuckles and sitting back in the seat next to Drifloon. "I came here to break my own curse. See ever since an incident in the Spear Pillar I've been a little troubled by visions. Not happy ones let me tell you."

"Hey, Itzal!" Tori shouted. "There're more customers for you. By request."

I looked surprised as I saw a group of girls waiting for me. I used the same bowing technique as Sableye simply chuckled in the background.

"And he says I'm a hound dog," he said as I shot him a crossed look.

"But he's so much easier to talk to than other people," Drifloon said sipping her coffee. "I'm glad I came here to meet him."

* * *

><p>After the café closed at lunch time I changed into my normal clothes and pulled the overcoat around my shoulders fitting my arms into the sleeves. Upon stepping outside I was met by Drifloon, Cassandra, and Kimiko who asked if they could walk around with me. I agreed and followed them looking back and forth from stand to stand to try to find even a shred of Pokémon evidence. So far, nothing. We swung by the area designated for the fighting tournament and saw that it was finally completed. I walked into the area and looked at the layout; in front of me was a pool of water with a fighting area in the center consisting of about a twenty foot by twenty foot platform with two bridges on opposite sides and all around that were the stands going up by about fifteen elevated stands with a center path for travel.<p>

"This'll work out nicely," I said reading a sign on the gates giving direction for the preliminaries. "Perfect, now we just wait for six o clock."

"So are you entering the tournament, Itzal?" Cassandra asked as we began walking throughout the stalls.

"Actually, no, I can do better detective work **out** of the infirmary," I said. "Besides with thirty two entrants allowed and the vast amount of them being Pokémon who **aren't** rogue there may not be a need for me to be in it. Plus I can't fight from close range. The only thing we can do is hope that this whole thing will be handled entirely by our friends from all around the world and Typhlosion's kid."

"Her name is Alice, and she's sponsoring this thing so you'd better be polite," Kimiko said reprimanding.

In the background Drifloon began chuckling at the scene between all three of us. "You three are the best examples of friends I've ever seen. Let me try my best for you guys too!" she said excitedly.

"_Oh this could be bad…" _I thought.

* * *

><p>The night after the day came quicker than I had expected, not saying I'm complaining. The designated area, a set of eight separate small fighting stages set up in the large gymnasium with no stands but people were allowed to act as spectators. I met up with Typhlosion and Alice who led me to a viewing platform they reserved for VIPs. I watched the contestants come in one at a time mostly with a similar factor; they all were large muscled men most with karate uniforms with ripped sleeve and a belt around their heads, some with variations of Chinese martial artist outfits, but other than that there was almost no discerning from one person to another.<p>

Alice clapped her hands together getting everyone's attention as I noticed that Typhlosion was nowhere near her.

"Welcome fighters!" she announced through a microphone. "To this festival's no-holds-barred fighting tournament!" she said as the contestants all shouted in agreement. "First we need to go over some ground rules. First, the use of all bladed, sharpened, and antique weapons is forbidden however wooden equivalents are fine to use. The use of guns and other deadly projectile weapons is also forbidden. As for those of you who have powers deemed as 'special' know the limits between fighting and lethal. Other than that, it's no holds barred. You have been separated into eight groups that will fight with no time limit. The match will be over when there are four standing members in the groups and those four will go on to the main tournament. And now, let us begin!" she announced as the fighters all shouted like before.

As the bell rang throughout the stadium I looked down first at the closest group to me where I could positively identify four Pokémon in the crowd; Blaziken, Infernape, Typhlosion, and Charizard. All were wearing slightly different outfits than before with Blaziken wearing the same outfit he wore when he fought off that gang in Chicago, Infernape was now wearing a pair of brown cargo pants, a long sleeved brown short underneath a white t-shirt, white gloves, and a white headband all bordered in gold. Typhlosion was now wearing a fur lined jacket that looked it was one fire, but without a shirt underneath almost as though he were trying to intimidate people with his muscular body, a pair of dirty black jeans, and black skating shoes, but the most interesting part was the half face mask that covered everything on his face just before his mouth with five points at the top lining his hair. Charizard was wearing a similar outfit from when I first met him with his orange jacket that had the two holes in the back for his spectral wings and cream colored clothes mixed in.

A large man from the other end of the stadium with muscles on top of muscles charged through an open path straight to Infernape chuckling.

"I'll just make sure you don't get hurt, kid," he said reaching out his gloved hand.

"Sorry," Infernape said cracking his knuckles. "But I can't stand people who try to look out for me."

From my vantage point I could still see the eye color change from brown to red in his eyes as charged towards the man and punched his gut almost launching him out of the stadium leaving the other fighters except for the other three Pokémon in the stadium with sweat dropping from their foreheads as the man landed on his back outside the stadium. Infernape blew on his fist as he chuckled and made a low fighting stance.

"Who's next?" he asked as other fighters nervously put up their fists in fear.

"Honestly," Charizard said punching someone from behind him as they tried to sneak up on him. "That kid has no self-control."

"You said it," Blaziken said keeping his eye on Infernape still fighting as he jumped up and did a rotary kick in the air knocking out an opponent.

Typhlosion, with his mask, stood in silence as opponents came one at a time and he showed no visible emotion as he flipped onto his hands and spun around in a kick knocking out at least seven people at once.

"_This seems a little unfair, even from this vantage point,"_ I thought holding my head in my hand as I turned my attention to another section of the prelims.

* * *

><p>The second group had only one Pokémon I recognized, that being Umbreon, who began charging at several fighters with a Quick Attack one after the other showing no signs of exhaustion. The other three Pokémon were easy to identify; one was a boy about thirteen years old about four foot five inches in height, a trim build, with dark blue hair reaching down to his shoulder and slightly over his red eyes wearing a dark blue t-shirt, black gloves with a silver stud on the back of the hand, black jeans, and, like Typhlosion, was wearing a mask, but this one looked similar to the face of a Pokémon named Riolu. The person next to him was a young girl about the same age and height with blue hair tied in a braid, dark blue eyes with a blue sweatshirt, baggy black pants, fingerless gloves with her hands gripped around a kendo training sword, and dark trainers. The last one was about the oldest I saw between the three of them making him about fifteen or sixteen, but he seemed a bit short for his height just barely above five foot five with a fit build and dark colored hair underneath a green fedora with a light blue band wearing a white turtle neck with the ends of the sleeves being a light green color, and green athletic sweat pants with a dark line down the pant leg. The more interesting thing about this stranger was his hands were both occupied with two wooden swords that held with one behind his back and one to his side.<p>

The younger boy ran up to one of the fighters and pushed his hand against him and suddenly the man was forced back with a blue streak following after him. The boy simply folded his arm and ran back into the thick of fighters looking for his next "victim."

The girl chuckled as she was approached by a man who was also holding up another sword to meet hers. The two engaged in a sword fight that four other people, the three other Pokémon and one other swordsman, watched as both seemed equally matched. The man then overpowered her swing and began to bring his sword when the girl ducked under him and slashed across his back with the sword with a blue trail coming after it.

"_The boy is obviously a Riolu," _I thought. _"That move he used was a Force Palm, a move that uses the users own Chi or Aura as an attack. The girl on the other end is more than likely a Dewott. Her master of swordsmanship at that apparent age is evidence of that. But that warrior, I have a bad feeling I know who he is."_

The swordsman came back and attempted to attack the Dewott when his attacked was intercepted by a thrown sword from the final Pokémon in the group. The sword fell out of the other swordsman's hand as the Pokémon charged him and hit him in the gut knocking him out.

"_Swordsmanship that quick, a style not even attainable by a Samurott, that boy is another rogue candidate; Gallade."_

The Gallade clapped his hands together and sat down in a meditation and waited for the other groups to finish.

* * *

><p>As did I as I turned my attention to next group with no Pokémon I could positively recognize. One was a girl about my own height of six feet with a slight grayish tint to her skin, short gray hair parting off to the left side, and holding a helmet with two long horns facing forward wearing a gray tunic that seemed hard enough to be considered body armor covering her body, the helmet placed on her head, and she wore a pair of black gloves and shoes that seemed all too familiar. Another was a young boy that seemed even younger than Quilava, almost twelve, with tanned skin and dark brown hair styled in a pony tail with some of his hair falling over his face, a tooth pick in his mouth, a pair of sunglasses, a purple striped shirt under a green jacket, a pair of black jeans, and a hat similar to the Gallade's. The next one was a much older man almost twenty three about my height if not an inch shorter with a reasonably trim build, short blackish purple spiked hair wearing a heavy purple hooded sweatshirt with two pointed areas on the hood that seemed to hide his faced from view, save the creepy perma-smile and his red eyes, a pair of dark purple jeans, and purple boots. The last Pokémon in the group was another large man about five inches taller than myself with white hair with green tips wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with green tipped sleeves, white athletic pants with green tipped pant legs, and a pair of white sneakers.<p>

The first on the assault was the woman who charged through the fighters knocking out at least ten fighters just based on that. She then went into a one on one match with a karate fighter who went right for a punch hitting the tunic confirming my suspicion that it was body armor since it caused the fighter to hold his hand in pain as the girl quickly punched him in the cheek knocking him out.

The youngest boy simply jumped around the fighters and kicked most in the face causing them to fall over but not defeated as they angrily chased the boy around the stadium when he jumped and watched from the air as they all fell off the stadium disqualifying them. The boy chuckled as he landed on his feet on the stage and gave a thumbs-up to the audience still holding the toothpick in his teeth.

The oldest male was still stuck in a one on one match with a fighter who watched as he simply dodged the attacks then got behind him. The fighter turned around and was met by the man's large red eyes and creepy smile. At the sight of this the fighter fainted instantly as the man chuckled while shrugging his shoulders in time with his chuckle.

The man who seemed my age simply walked to the corner of the stage and found himself faced by at least twenty fighters. The man remained emotionless as he pushed his arm on the ground causing a large fissure in the stage launching the fighters into the air as he lifted his fist and kept the same look on his face.

"_The woman is an Aggron, that much is apparent by the helmet and hard body armor,"_ I thought. _"Based on the boy's agility and hairstyle suggest a Grovyle. The oldest of this group, with his smile and the purple ensemble, suggest one of my fellow ghosts, Gengar. The final one is hard to discern, but based on his color scheme I can assume an ice type and the attack he used was a Wood Hammer. The only Pokémon able to learn that move with an ice type element and that massive size would be an Abomasnow. Next group."_

* * *

><p>Group number four had two Pokémon I knew and two I didn't, one was Torterra still wearing his large jacket with the two elemental symbols sewed in, and one was Empoleon wearing a mask similar to an Empoleon's, a dark blue cape, and a one piece dark blue swimsuit with a white section in the middle section. The first I couldn't recognize was a man about age twenty with a tanned skinny body and long crimson colored hair with black streaks wearing what looked like a black ninja costume with red accents. The second was a girl about as old as Quilava but at least two inches shorter than me with short black hair with a red streak going up and part of the hair covering her right eye revealing her left eye as a pure silver color wearing a black long sleeved dress ending about an inch above her knee, a red sash tied around her waist with three ribbons sticking outward, black leggings, black flat shoes with silver tips, and a pendant with a golden ovular shape at the end.<p>

Torterra and Empoleon, in short, double teamed against a vast array of fighters. By the time it was over the two stood alone and Torterra was left simply sitting on the ground playing a grass whistle and Empoleon lying on the ground listening to the music and watching the other fights in the same stadium.

The man in the ninja suit began fighting with basic martial arts with near inhuman speed taking down person after person with a confident smile on his face. After finishing off as many as he could he stood and bowed to a specific girl who clapped at his success.

The young girl stayed completely indifferent towards all the fighting and simply used small attacks to the nerves pretty much paralyzing the fighters that came at her. She finished off her tenth opponent and landed on a pile of fighters with crossed legs.

"_All of these Pokémon are easy to discern, the first mystery Pokémon is a Zoroark," _I thought. _"That's apparent by the ninja like reflexes and the second one is probably a Sneasel, but that girl has some condition causing her to have that silver eye."_

* * *

><p>Averting my gaze to the fifth group I spied Quilava in his usual outfit, Drifloon looking at the large men who eyed her mischievously, Pikachu who looked excited to battle against the strong men, and one Pokémon I couldn't recognize at a glance. She was maybe about as tall as Cassandra but seemed to be in her late twenties. Her hair was a silvery blue reaching down to her waist and her face seemed snow white. She wore a white dress shirt that ended at about knee length with the ends of a pair of white shorts barely visible, long socks, and a pair of small blue shoes. Fixing my gaze on her I noticed that she seemed to be wearing a faded purple collar that seemed to have pictures dangling from it.<p>

Despite being a frail and almost model-like woman she asserted her dominance quickly in the fighting round. As Quilava used just normal attacks to defeat some of the fighters the woman almost seemed to be flowing with power as she almost seemed to just have to glare at someone to make him faint. All around her people just seemed to drop like flies especially when they tried to attack her after realizing how strong she was and almost couldn't seem to hit her. I looked down at the fight from up above and already I knew that she could've been the rogue, if not for one important factor.

Pikachu and Drifloon had almost no problems fighting off the fighters. Pikachu simply attacked with lightning fast, no pun intended, attacks such as Agility or Quick Attack with maybe a hint of electricity being employed. Drifloon, on the other hand, seemed almost frightened by all of them and when they came near her she literally sent them away by blasting them back with a near invisible barrage of Shadow Ball attacks.

"_Since I already know the first three let's try to figure that woman out,"_ I thought. _"Her hair looks separated as it reaches down to her waist and when she turns in this direction I can see her eyes are red with a white pupil. Also, she seems capable of using psychic power specific to the move Safeguard keeping all those human fighters at bay. But for a Safeguard to exude that much force it would take close to a century of training, something normally only capable of a Lugia. But there is one other. Power like that existing for over a hundred years can only be attained, by a non-legendary Pokémon can only be…Ninetales. And she must be a shiny one at that given her hair color."_

* * *

><p>While Ninetales still intrigued me I moved onto the sixth group where I saw Sableye, Meowth, Absol, and one Pokémon I couldn't identify. She seemed younger than me by at least two years with about the height of Cassandra with a swimmers build and dark brown hair with blue highlights at the ends and orange highlights near the roots with two tufts of darker blue hair styled upward. Based on my vantage point she wore a pair of orange goggles on her head, a cobalt hoodie with the sleeves rolled up over a long sleeve shirt with orange sleeves, a pair of a similar blue color swimmer's shorts, and a pair of brown sandals with orange edges.<p>

Sableye seemed to be the only one out of the three Pokémon I knew who seemed fully into the match running into the thick of fighters ready to fight clearing most of the area himself. Meowth and Absol simply fought off whoever came again while Meowth was flipping his Koban. I could tell that Absol had kept the same tactics in fighting as when he and I fought as he would disappear for a moment and then strike his opponent with a Sucker Punch attack. The girl was the one I watched the most intently, however, as she seemed to be tired as her eyes almost seemed to be closed. My suspicions were confirmed when she let out a huge yawn and the audience all fell over onto one leg.

But when a large fighter charged at her she instantly seemed to "wake-up" and in one move she struck the ground and launched several pieces of wood into the air. She then hit one on the end and it spun end over end until it connected with the fighter's face knocking him out almost instantaneously.

"_Brick Break, huh?"_ I questioned as I watched her go back into a lazy state. _"Okay, supposing I have this right she is a water type that specializes in physical attacks. Based on her hairstyle and assuming I'm right about the Pokémon sent here, she is a Swampert."_

* * *

><p>I turned my gaze to the seventh group which had Glaceon, Dewgong, and then two Pokémon I didn't recognize. The first was a girl about age eighteen or nineteen with tanned skin about the same height as Kimiko with a slim body and slightly tamed, spiky brown hair with green highlights. She wore a dirty green bomber jacket over a dark green shirt, short beige shorts, gray knee-high socks, and dark green sneakers. The next person was a large man about twenty four years old at about six foot two with spiky red hair wearing round glasses kinda like Drowzee's. His arms seemed longer than most people with the wrists more visible out of his white suit and with two wooden replica knives in between his fingers.<p>

Glaceon was relatively untouched by the other fighters because of her frail physique. One fighter asked to escort her out and she grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. For some reason, no one really ever bothered her after that. Dewgong was more involved in the battle fighting people who willingly came at her and meeting them with a similar fighting style to how she attacked me when I first met her.

The other girl had a habit of kicking people from above instead of to the side normally striking them on the tops of their heads knocking them out. Either that or she used an unorthodox method of grabbing a person's arm and then ducking underneath their legs causing the person to flip over.

The large man fought with the ferocity of a wild animal, but the calculating strategy of a war general as he would never use the same tactic twice in a row. Instead he would jump over himself after facing an opponent and then use a different combo move from a kick to a punch and making the tactical transition within seconds.

"_The girl is more than likely a Flygon, and a very powerful one at that,"_ I thought. _"This is made apparent by her use of more aerial attacks such as that kick from above and then using that one obscure tactic as though she were grounding a flying Pokémon. The man is more than likely a Vigoroth made apparent by those permanent bags under his eyes seeing as Vigoroth don't sleep. But I've never met a Vigoroth more calculating, or for that matter, thinking."_

* * *

><p>The last group is the one that really caught my eye. For one I saw Cofagrigus and two other Pokémon as opposed to the four that have usually been in each group. The first was a middle-aged man about thirty five years of age with a muscular but skinny build and black hair tied in a small pony tail His dark purple eyes seemed almost traumatizing as he walked around the stadium in an indigo trench coat over a long sleeve red shirt whose sleeves pointed at the ends, a pair of matching indigo pants, black dress shoes, and a long black cane. The second Pokémon was a much, much, younger boy, I'd almost put him at ten. He was maybe a little under four foot five with a scrawny body and shaggy brown hair with purple highlights. He wore a purple hoodie sweatshirt with a yellow turtle neck underneath, a pair of purple slacks, and black tennis shoes. The thing that intrigued me most about him was his eyes were bright yellow with the pupils almost narrowing. The last person to catch my eye was someone I never expected to see there; Tori.<p>

Tori was wearing the same outfit he wore when performing at the club with a long rod on his shoulders. He was facing away from me, but I could recognize the blue highlights in his hair despite what anyone else may say.

So far the round was almost done with Cofagrigus already sitting down and watching the last three match-ups. Three fighters in similar outfits against the three subjects of my interests. The young boy was the first to attack as the fighter thrust his fist backwards and then forwards. Just before it hit the boy jumped up and snapped a kick right across the man's jaw knocking him out.

The man with the cane was the next to battle as he simply walked up and began wielding his cane like a bo staff or sword masterfully. The fighter tried his best to block the attacks but soon fell victim to the man's overpowering tactics.

Tori began his own fight with the last fighter Tori dodged most of his attacks until the man was nearly four feet away. Just as the man was about to charge him Tori swung the stick around and struck the man's legs knocking him over with the rod now pointed at his face.

Based on the words coming from Tori's mouth I could make out, "Concede." As though in a command. The man held his head down showing his surrender as the entire audience went back to look at the man with the cane. No one, as well as myself, ever expected this, but the man was still striking the man despite his plea to stop. Just as the man was about to make the final blow Tori thrust his rod down intercepting the cane forcing the man to stop.

As the fighter was taken away his leg appeared to be broken from the continual beating he was given. The man seemed to show no remorse for his actions as I began my evaluation.

"_The kid is an Ekans, that much is certain by his eyes and the pupils,"_ I thought. _"But that man, is another candidate for the rogue. A very dangerous one at that, a very deadly one, a very poisonous one; Toxicroak."_

* * *

><p>The winners from all the stages came down to the crossroads for all the stages as Alice calmed the crowd down.<p>

"These are your thirty two talented fighters, let's give them a round of applause!" she shouted as the audience clapped and cheered for all thirty one Pokémon and one human. "And I have the pairings for the first rounds. Please pay attention."

A large banner fell from her podium large enough for everyone to see.

* * *

><p><em>Round 1 Pairings<em>

_Block A_

_Temno Ubiitsa (Zoroark) v. Latisha (Flygon)_

_Tsubasa (Gallade) v. Agata (Grovyle)_

_Danny (Riolu) v. Forrest (Torterra)_

_Johan (Typhlosion) v. Gespenst (Gengar)_

_Andy (Sneasel) v. Defectus (Cofagrigus)_

_Pepe (Pikachu) v. Brianna (Umbreon)_

_Hemlock (Toxicroak) v. Keeps (Sableye)_

_Lucy (Ninetales) v. Kazan (Quilava)_

_Block B_

_Veleno (Ekans) v. Saru (Infernape)_

_Phyrrus (Charizard) v. Nyaro (Meowth)_

_Flash Fyre (Blaziken) v. Icarus (Vigoroth)_

_Tori v. Mizu (Empoleon)_

_Azu (Swampert) v. Maris (Aggron)_

_Diamond (Glaceon) v. Fubuki (Dewgong)_

_Derek Anderson (Abomasnow) v. Catastrophe (Absol)_

_Reikon (Drifloon) v. Alex (Dewott)_

* * *

><p>"And there you have it! The tournament will be in three days over Friday and Saturday so get ready, have fun with the festivities, and get as much information on your opponent as possible!" Alice announced over the microphone as the audience cheered.<p>

"_I have my suspicions, but only time will tell which, out of these thirty one Pokémon is rogue," _I thought looking at the pairing for the first round.

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Drifloon (Reikon) played by Kitsunelover300

Sableye (Keeps) played by The Helpless Romantic

Charizard (Phyrrus) played by Timberstar

Infernape (Saru) played by Bionicleguru

Blaziken (Flash Fyre) played by Comicfan616

Typhlosion (Johan) played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Umbreon (Brianna) played by Alicelouise'x

Riolu (Danny) played by LunaHozuki666

Dewott (Alex) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Gallade (Tsubasa) played by Nightfall00

Aggron (Maris) played by A Half Empty Glass

Grovyle (Agata) played by The Guardian 1412

Gengar (Gespenst) played by Overlord Kog

Abomasnow (Derek Anderson) played by DarkraiBlast

Torterra (Forrest) played by Comicfan616

Empoleon (Mizu) played by Timberstar

Zoroark (Temno Ubiitsa) played by Dragoonian

Sneasel (Andy) played by Rabbid Madwoman

Quilava (Kazan) played by Bionicleguru

Pikachu (Pepe) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Ninetales (Lucy) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Meowth (Nyaro) played by Comicfan616

Absol (Catastrophe) played by Raimaru13

Swampert (Azu) played by Bamboo Tonfas

Glaceon (Diamond Lunar Wind) played by Sarah94306

Dewgong (Fubuki) played by Gatechild

Flygon (Latisha) played by Mossyhairundys

Cofagrigus (Defectus) played by Umbrafox

Toxicroak (Hemlock) played by The Helpless Romantic

Ekans (Veleno) played by Bionicleguru

* * *

><p>Chapter fifteen complete. Can I say at this point that my fingers hurt from that credit reel? Hope you had fun with this chapter even though it seemed a little rushed, but in all fairness I had thirty two battle scenes to go through. Well, it looks like Itzal's suspect list is finished, Abomasnow, Toxicroak, and Gallade. The question is who do you think it is?<p>

Chapter sixteen preview: With three days to kill just waiting for the tournament Itzal gets asked out by Cassandra again with Umbreon, Absol, Froslass, and Kimiko in hot pursuit. While on the "date" Itzal and Cassandra experience a power from the supernatural well resting at this school while learning more about the competitors. Next time: Going Out with Humans.


	17. Going Out with Humans

Here's chapter sixteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Hopefully you all have been enjoying this story since I made it. I would like to request something to those of who have not yet sent me an OC to my other Gijinka story. I would like to request that you A; look at the bottom of my profile to know which Pokémon have been claimed and then B; make an OC for that story. Thank you for any help. For those who don't know my story is called Pokémon Gijinka: Those Who Have Come Before.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Going Out with Humans<p>

My alarm woke me up again resulting in me habitually punching it across the room only for it to be caught in the air by Tori who put the alarm on the snooze button and placed it directly next to my ear. Within the next few minutes it rang again directly in my ear waking me up nearly instantly as I jumped from the bed and out onto the floor with half of my body still on the bed.

"Now funny!" I shouted as Tori left the room without a word. _"That's right,"_ I thought. _"Tori fought in the prelims and saved that fighter from damage beyond repair. I knew that Toxicroak can be a violent species, but that borderlines prime suspect."_

* * *

><p>I fitted my arms through the sleeves of my coat and walked out of my dorm to find the festivities still in full swing. My eyes softened as I walked through the stalls and saw all the people having all the fun they could have despite it still being before eight o clock in the morning. I walked along the path when I ran into Cassandra, literally, and knocked both of us to the ground. Helping her up to her feet I apologized and looked upward seeing the clouds above beginning to darken.<p>

"Rain?" I asked looking back down at Cassandra.

"I think the forecast actually said there's a chance for snow today," she answered looking around the area. "Hey, Itzal?" she began. "Would you like to, I don't know, walk around the festival with me today?"

"You mean like what we did in Chicago?" I asked as she blushed slightly.

"Yeah, kind of," she said trying to hide her face behind her bangs.

"Sure, why not?" I said motioning with my hand for her to go on first.

She bowed to me with a slight curtsy and walked off with me right behind her off to her right. Off in one of the far bushes, unbeknownst to either me or Cassandra, Umbreon was watching us from afar and snickering as she wrote down notes in her small notepad. As she wrote down details she saw she looked behind her and jumped back almost out of hiding when she saw Absol, Kimiko, and Froslass seemingly appear from behind her out of nowhere.

"What the heck are you doing here?" she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"Well, I am in the tournament, Kimiko goes to school here, and Froslass' employer is also in the tournament so we do not have much of a choice," Absol explained following the two of us with his eyes.

"That much I know, but why here in this specific spot at this specific moment in time?" Umbreon asked as she recomposed herself.

"I am here to make sure Duskull does not make a big mistake, and I see he has already made another mistake," Absol answered averting his gaze from me and Cassandra to Kimiko. "These two probably have a personal agenda of their own."

Kimiko and Froslass both blushed after Absol made his comment as Froslass tried to hide her face and Kimiko tried to stay composed. Umbreon sneered and looked at the two girls with her normal mischievous smile.

"So that's how it is," Umbreon said as Froslass and Kimiko both hid their faces from her. "No use in trying to hide it, when it comes to stuff like this I'm as good as Duskull at deductive reasoning. It _is_ my job as an ace reporter."

"Anyway, I think the three of you should know that they have gotten into a large crowd," Absol said repositioning their attention at the situation at hand as they jumped out of the bush and began to follow us at a reasonable distance so we couldn't see them.

* * *

><p>While walking through the festival Cassandra showed me around all the places that people like to go and the things they like to do at things like this. I quickly became amazed at how much actually went on during the festival since I was always so busy with the tournament planning. But for some reason I still couldn't understand something; I was feeling, well, really nervous about all this; being alone with Cassandra again even after our day together in Chicago.<p>

"Is there a problem?" Cassandra asked stopping and turning to face me.

"I don't know," I answered. "I just have a weird feeling about all this."

"Call it nerves," Cassandra said as we stopped at a booth with a shooting gallery. "Let's try this."

"What is it?" I asked as she handed me a long rifle.

"You aim and pull the trigger to shoot the balloons," Cassandra said aiming and firing but missing the balloon by a few inches. "I've never been good at marksmanship."

"So in other words," I said holding the rifle up with a single hand. "It's like shooting an Ice Beam?"

"In general, yeah," Cassandra said as I shot the rifle after her answer and shot the balloon with the small dart shot from the gun.

"Seems simple enough," I said shooting the gun again and again hitting a total of six balloons with all six bullets.

Cassandra, the game director, and an audience of people were stunned as he gave me a prize; a large teddy bear about the size of my foot to my knee. I looked at it and saw it only had one eye making me look at it sympathetically. I looked at Cassandra who was still shock after watching me shoot with the precision of a sniper as I threw the stuffed animal at her. She managed to catch and looked at me as I smiled.

"I won it for you," I said as she blushed and the audience gave an approving chorus of "aww."

"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, I consider that game Ice Beam practice when I can use it with one hand," I said. "But I don't know what their problem is."

Cassandra chuckled nervously as we left the game while had her go ahead of me.

Back in a hidden area Umbreon, Absol, and Kimiko were in complete awe as we left the booth.

"He is truly amazing," Absol said.

"I know," Umbreon said. "Where did he practice appropriate dating? How did he know to give the prize to his significant other?"

"Maybe he read it in a book," Kimiko noted. "I saw him pretty absorbed in a book last night after the tournament prelims."

Froslass looked at all three confused. Let's just say that almost all ghost types are pretty oblivious to things like natural human emotions. As we disappeared from view Froslass tried to get their attention as the three continued to chatter among themselves. Froslass became annoyed by this, as made apparent by her facial expression, and blasted all three with a light Powder Snow attacks. She pointed out at the streets as the three regained their attention as we continued to walk down it. The four frantically followed us again and quickly lost us in the crowd as Umbreon screamed out of frustration.

I sneezed as we walked down the streets making Cassandra ask if I caught a cold.

"No, I just have another weird feeling," I said. "I also think that someone's talking about me behind my back."

"Let's not worry about that," Cassandra said grabbing my hand and pulling me through the crowd. "This is _our_ day."

* * *

><p>As we made it out of the large crowd we found ourselves at an outdoor café with couples left and right. I looked all around when my eyes stopped on two specific people. One was Zoroark, based on the wild hair style which was somewhat hidden by a red and black winter hat, but he was now wearing a closed black leather jacket, a pair of black gloves, black cargo jeans, and a pair of black and red tennis shoes. The girl he was with was the same as the one who was applauding at him last night at the tournament. She seemed short for her apparent age with long dirty blond hair and a curved figure with tanned skin. She wore a tan snow coat, white pants, tan gloves, and tan and gold tennis shoes.<p>

A waitress came up to the two of us and showed us to a table right behind Zoroark's and his "date." The second I sat down I felt an enormous of power behind me as I turned in my seat to come face to face with Zoroark who turned at the same time.

"_Cursed?" _I thought as Zoroark and I stared at each other for nearly a minute before he made the first move.

"Did you enjoy the show?" he asked with a slight Russian accent.

"It was enlightening," I said as I looked back at Cassandra.

"I take it she is another one of us?" Zoroark asked.

"No, she's human," I said as Cassandra cheerfully waved at the two of them with the girl facing Zoroark waving back in the same manner. "And this is?"

"Of course, this is Zamorozhennye Dukha," he said making a motion with his hand towards the girl sitting across from him. "A Lopunny, and you could say, my girlfriend."

Lopunny blushed as did Cassandra which made me look at both in a confused way. I shook it off as I looked at the gloves that Zoroark wore and saw three protruding marks on each hand.

"You haven't fully transformed, have you?" I asked pointing down at his hands.

"You're sharp," he said pulling off his gloves. "But not as sharp as these," he said showing three claws on his index, middle, and ring finger on both hands. "When I came here I tried resisting the transformation based on instinct and the end result was a mutation on my hands. It's why I wear my gloves for everything."

"_This makes three I've met," _I though. _"And one of them is myself. Subtle mutations such as this are hallmarks of a curse being placed on a Pokémon. My eye, Cofagrigus' arm, and now Zoroark's hand. It's where the curse is centralized and where, if that part of the body is acted upon, the curse begins to take over. I have to watch out for him so he doesn't go all loopy."_

Zoroark put his gloves back on and leaned back in his chair as the waitress gave us our drinks. After finishing our drinks both Cassandra and I stood up from our seats and began to leave when a felt an enormous amount of pressure and held onto my eye in pain. Zoroark instantly stood up from his seats and placed his hand over my eye as Cassandra watched in concern as I cringed on the ground.

"What happened?" she asked as I lifted my hand to get their attention.

"This school is filled with supernatural power that has yet to be tested," I said as Zoroark pushed his hand over my eye harder as though trying to transfer something. "My guess is that we're experiencing an episode of that power. If it doesn't stop in a few minutes I want one of you to knock me out."

"More importantly, what're you doing?" Cassandra asked as Zoroark closed his eyes slowly as the claws on his hands began to glow through the glove fabric. "It looks like it hurt…a lot."

"Temno is slowly transferring power into Duskull," Lopunny explained. "As a cursed Pokémon Duskull is occasionally overcome with a powerful power that can cause him to go into a state that Pokémon deem Berserker-Mode. After that he has to be quickly knocked out or he will continue to rampage. The most effective way of having the influence of the curse take over is to slowly transfer power of a super effective element into his body to counteract the curse like a medicine against a sickness."

"The first time this happened," I started. "We were in Sydney. I was followed by a lingering memory of Dusknoir and he infused my eye with this power and then allowed it to go wild. The curse is nothing more than a form of the Pokémon Virus."

"Pokémon Virus?" Cassandra asked.

"Otherwise known as Pokérus," Zoroark said opening his eyes. "The virus causes an elevated growth in a Pokémon's stats and can cause them to become even stronger. The virus will normally disappear within a few days and then your body builds up immunity to the virus and you become incapable of ever getting it again. If you happen to have it while you are attacked by a powerful attack from a Pokémon of great power the condition becomes permanent and you become this monster called the Cursed."

"Are you worried about insulting Duskull?" Cassandra asked.

"No," Zoroark said easing the pressuring. "Because I am the same. We are never insulted by what we are."

"True," I said as my voice dimmed into a hoarse whisper. "But you have insulted me in one respect," I said sitting up straight. "You thought that level of dark power would stop me?"

I stood up straight with my eye glowing the spectral red that it had back in Sydney when I first went on a rampage. Zoroark stood up and faced me with an indifferent face staring at my own smiling face. He placed his hands up in a martial arts stance and ran at me making wide turns with his legs as he tried to kick my feet from underneath me. As I dodged the kicks he swung one of his legs in a diagonal fashion to hit my head. The kick made a connection but to Zoroark's, Lopunny's, and Cassandra's surprise I had not moved from the impact and simply stood and stared at Zoroark with a sneer. I gripped onto his leg and forced him onto the ground.

"You may be a Zoroark," I started. "But your level is still too weak to be considered anything close to my own. I'd guess you're in the fortieth level percentile, not even able to use Night Daze, what a shame."

"Don't mock me," he said disappearing from view and then attacking from behind.

I turned around and stared at him with my glowing eye as he stopped in his tracks and fell to the ground. "A wonderful thing Disable."

Zoroark cringed on the ground and looked up at me with his claws beginning to glow from within his gloves. He slowly pulled them off his hands and dropped them on the ground and made another fighting stance.

"Zoroark! Don't!" Lopunny shouted as Zoroark dashed to me and slashed at me with his now visible claws.

"Much better," I said as I was barely able to dodge the attacks noticing a black trail behind the slash. "Show me what you've got!"

I jumped backwards and up into the air and blasted an Ice Beam from one hand at Zoroark who, still remaining silent, slashed right through it. My eye widened in happy surprise as Zoroark slashed at me while in the air and knocking me onto a nearby school building. I fell into the roof of the building with my body making a small impression in the stone roof as Zoroark jumped into the air and dived down with his claws engulfed in shadow.

"Night Slash," I said as he impacted with the roof and moving with just a second to spare. "A move that while engulfing the user's claws in complete shadow it nearly doubles their chances for a critical hit."

Zoroark looked up at me, his eyes as feral as though he were still an actual Pokémon, and placed his hands together and extended his index and middle finger and began running in circles around me gaining more speed.

"Agility," I observed as he stopped and charged right at me with at least twice the speed.

Zoroark charged me with another Night Slash as I saw a faint glow around him dissipate. I smirked and simply stood my ground waiting for him to get close enough to me. When he was less than a foot away my eye shined once more in the spectral red and suddenly his attack dissipated with me intercepting him and elbowing him in the back.

"I've found that in this world Disable can have two uses," I said standing over Zoroark's huddled body. "When used against basic fighting used by humans it causes them to stop motion entirely and when used against an attack previously used by the user it keeps you from using it for about twenty minutes. When the first affect is applied the attack takes on a form of inhibitions to keep you from using the same skills for nearly ten minutes."

Standing up off of the ground Zoroark let his hair hide his face as he looked down at his claws. "So how did you know when you could use Disable again? It's not like it's an easy thing to anticipate, and you can only be affected by one Disable attack at a time."

"With my eye, while you're affected by the attack there's a thin, invisible red membrane that surrounds your silhouette," I explained as Zoroark breathed out to calm himself down.

"It's too bad, y'know," he said looking up at the sky.

"And what does that mean?" I asked beginning to get annoyed.

"You're so weak in reality," he said as my eyebrow twitched in irritation. "It takes you a whole ten minutes to figure out some way to beat me because you can't fight with your hands. And what's more is that it takes a power you're afraid of to do it. Doesn't that make you weaker than me in that respect? Sure, like any cursed Pokémon I can have an uncontrollable temper, it comes with the territory, but at least I don't have to use that as an excuse."

"Excuse for what?" I asked rotating my heads and producing two Shadow Balls.

"You use your condition as a cursed Pokémon as an excuse for the sole reason of trying to create distance from yourself and the people, and by that I mean humans, who really care about you," he said as the thought struck me like a rock would to my head. "Cassandra, Kimiko, they both care about you because they don't see your reflection in the mirror and see a monster. They see a friend who's willing to risk his life on this earth to protect them. They see a person who can teach them about a world they can only dream about. But more than that," he said speeding up to me. "They just see you…"

He placed his hand on my shoulder as I began to calm down. I was about to bring my head down when a sudden upsurge of the power forced its way out and back to me. I dropped my head almost instantly and then brought it up with an evil sneer and my eye glowing with no discernable features.

"Nice try," I said. "But not good enough."

Zoroark began to back up out of instinct when he felt a sudden sensation from his side coming towards him. He turned his face just before a blast of power shot across the roof driving Zoroark onto the roof of the next building.

"A beautiful thing Future Sight," I said clapping my hands from the imaginary dirt.

I turned to face him across the building and saw him near exhausted, but still willing to fight. I threw a total of three Shadow Balls at him thinking it would work. They then exploded in his area and I sneered as the dust cleared. As the dust cleared my sneer slowly turned into a scowl to find Zoroark unharmed, and being guarded. Lopunny was holding her hand out and crushing the Shadow Balls in her grip as she jumped across the roof and hit me in the gut with a Fire Punch attack as I fell to the ground clutching my gut.

"You may be powerful, but things cannot be changed," she said. "Normal types of any kind cannot be affected by the power of ghost type attacks."

"No, they can't, can they?" I said standing up. "But I still have other moves in this arsenal!" I shouted holding the sphere of an Ice Beam in my hand ready to fire when I heard the door to the roof fling open.

"Stop it, Itzal!" I heard Cassandra yelled across the roof as I looked back at her.

"Don't think I'll hesitate like I did in Sydney," I said firing the Ice Beam at Lopunny.

Lopunny stared into the path of the Ice Beam as it was sliced in half before her.

"What now!" I shouted angrily as I saw Absol standing in front of Lopunny with the feather from his hat unsheathed like a sword. "Now even you…"

"It is not my business if you choose to battle another Pokémon, but it soon becomes mine if you decide to try to seriously injure, or worse, that Pokémon and another party if they decide to help," Absol said as the feather shined in a harsh light with three whirlwinds appearing around him.

Absol slashed at the air with the feather and the three whirlwinds charged at me as I simply stood in silence as they came at me.

"You fool, normal attacks have no effect on me, and sadly enough Razor Wind is just that," I reminded Absol chuckled.

The three whirlwinds surrounded and collided with my body smashing me back and forth and depositing me on the ground below leaving me confused as to what happened.

"You can't use the attacks Odor Sleuth or Foresight, so how did you?" I asked as Absol extended his hand to point at Lopunny who chuckled as her eyes were still luminescent from the attack.

"But I can," she said as the light in her eyes dissipated.

"You still can't stop me, not all by yourself," I said as both made a fighting stance. "Bring it!"

"Mind if we join the party?" a voice said from the door of the roof as I turned around to find Umbreon, Froslass, and Kimiko from behind.

Umbreon and Froslass stood behind me as though ready to fight and Kimiko was left behind with Cassandra as all four Pokémon charged me at the same time. I simply smiled as I melted into my shadow and the four Pokémon all fell to the ground as I reappeared a few feet away. I looked over at the two humans watching and suddenly felt a stinging sensation in my eye. I closed my eye in pain and when I opened it I felt a fist connecting with my face. I twirled in the air a few times and landed on my back. When I looked around me I saw Cassandra near the place where I stood with a thrown fist and an angry face.

"So much for _our_ day," she said as I slowly lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>When I opened my eyes I was in the school infirmary with my eye patch still on and a nearby clock ticking away at the hours. I read the time as 7:45 at night. I sighed out of disappointment and completely aware of what I had done. I sat up in the bed and looked around me and found no one by my side unlike the last time.<p>

"_I knew it…"_ I though while getting out of the bed and finding that my clothes were changed with a black dress jacket, a black dress shirt, black slacks, and a red neck tie. _"What in the world?"_

As I stood in my formal wear I looked through the window and heard approaching footsteps. I opened the door to find Cassandra walking towards the infirmary in a red dress ending about at the knee.

"Did I miss something?" I asked.

"There's a little dance tonight and I signed us up to go, come on we're gonna be late," she said grabbing my hand and pulling me to wherever she was taking me.

* * *

><p>Upon arriving at the school auditorium the two of us entered and I found myself in the thick of a large throng of people all dancing anyway they wanted. I looked all around and saw Zoroark already awake and dancing with Lopunny in a crimson colored tuxedo with a black tie and Lopunny wearing a white dress with a gold colored choker. I looked at me hand depressed when Cassandra grabbed my hand and began to dance with me despite my inability to follow along.<p>

In the background Umbreon, Absol, and Froslass all watched with eager eyes while Kimiko's eyes were just twitching in frustration.

"Sneaky thief…" she said under her breath as she saw Cassandra trying to teach me how to dance.

For about twenty minutes he danced to a light tango and a bit of pop music. But the DJ in charge of the dance, who was, of all people, Tori spied the large number of couples who looked at him expectantly.

"Well, I guess it's time for a change of pace," he said tapping away at a laptop. "Let's slow things down with that special someone."

He loaded the music onto his computer and through the speakers a slow ballad music played as the entire populace danced slowly including Zoroark and Lopunny, and by her own force myself and Cassandra. For about five minutes we danced together as though they were no else around as I slowly, but exponentially, figure out the dance steps she had taught me. After the music ended the dancers applauded Tori who bowed. I clapped as well when I felt Cassandra tap my arm and lead me outside. While outside we quickly the forecast was right and that fresh snow was falling all over the campus. I had seen snow before, but never this up close. Cassandra still seemed more excited than me as I followed her outside and sat down on a wall while she danced like a ballerina in the snow until she was too tired and sat down next to me.

"Do you remember the first time you came to school?" she asked.

"I try not to, but if I recall correctly the teacher and the students, upon my arrival, recoiled back so far there was barely enough room on the wall for them all," I answered looking back at my time in England. "Then when fifth period rolled around you took one look at me and asked me a question. To be honest, I though it would've been about my eye patch, but that wasn't it. You asked, 'My name's Cassandra Yorkshire, what's yours?' After you asked that I froze, I thought to myself, 'How is it that this human isn't afraid of my appearance?' Then it hit me, you were just showing me what others hadn't, kindness. Too bad it took an intruder on school grounds with a fully loaded gun to figure it out."

"Well I'm glad you did," she said wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a kiss on my cheek. "Look, Duskull, there's something I wanted to tell you after this whole day was over, but was afraid to because of what happened."

I was still blushing from what she did as I saw her blushing as well as she was talking when she finally turned around and shouted something at the top of her lungs.

"I…I'm in love with you!" she shouted before standing up and running from the scene.

I was left with a face that hadn't changed in emotion. I took a deep breath and nodded my head a few times before falling over the wall and landed on the ground below.

"WHAT!" I shouted at the top of my own lungs.

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Umbreon (Brianna) played by Alicelouise'x

Absol (Catastrophe) played by Raimaru13

Froslass (Missy) played by Mew-Mew Pachirisu

Zoroark (Temno) played by Dragoonian

Lopunny (Zamorozhennye) played by Dragoonian

* * *

><p>Chapter sixteen finished. One word sums it all up and that it; capricious. Which means unpredictable. To be honest, <em>I<em> wasn't even expecting that, Cassandra sure has a mind of her own. Well, given that ghost types have no experience in this area one can only guess how this is going to work out. Have fun waiting for the next chapter. Winter Break is finally here so I'm off for two weeks. A lot of new stuff coming your way.

Chapter seventeen preview: After having his first confession Duskull finds it hard to face Cassandra, and even more so when the two are forced to be partners in a campus wide game that involves your favorite Phantom Thief S. Next time: Stealing with Humans, Revisited.


	18. Stealing with Humans, Revisited

Here's chapter seventeen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. As you remember last time Cassandra spouted what I like to call the three words phrase, or as most of you know it by, "I love you!" Well, as you learned last chapter, ghost types have no idea as to how process feelings of romantic love, and Duskull is no different. And since his biggest rival is coming back for a bit of mischief can Duskull break out of his shock? We'll see…

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Stealing with Humans, Revisited<p>

Her words echoed in my ear for as long as I was asleep with her face still in my vision no matter which I turned in my sleep. Her words almost burned my ears and I tried to block them out, but that proved futile as I heard the words bounding in my brain at higher and higher volumes that kept growing.

I woke up suddenly after the noise in my head reached levels much too high for me to handle. The noise echoed little by little until it fully disappeared from my head. I sighed with relief as I looked at the time on my clock and found it at almost ten o' clock in the morning. I stepped out of bed to find Tori in the kitchen slurping up a cup of noodles. As I reached my arms through my coat I stretched them as a cup fell into my hands. I looked at the cup to see it read "Shrimp Flavored."

"I thought we only had beef and chicken," I said as I opened the lid and poured some water in.

"I keep the shrimp flavored in the back room," Tori said slurping up the last of his beef noodles. "Beef and chicken flavored are for myself and my roommate, respectively, and the shrimp is for when someone in the dorm is down on either their emotions or luck."

"So, counsel noodles?" I asked as the timer dinged for the noodles to be ready. I grabbed the cup and walked to the table where I sat across from Tori and slurped the noodles almost all at once.

"You must really be upset," he said. "Shrimp flavored is the most disgusting."

"I'll say, you'd have to be depressed to eat this stuff," I said throwing the cup away.

"Yeah, that's how I know when someone's upset," Tori said finishing his own and throwing the cup away.

"So you just gave these to me guessing if I was depressed?" I asked taking both of our chopsticks and putting them next to sink to be cleaned.

"Obviously I was right," he answered. "So what does have you down?"

"I don't know," I said. "The only thing that's been bugging me is the fact that Cassandra suddenly said that she loves me out of the blue."

"Out of the blue?" Tori asked. "You really had no idea that Cassandra was in love with you? I mean it was more than painfully obvious when you two are together. Also, haven't you noticed that she gets really jealous whenever you're around Kimiko?"

"To be frank…no," I said as Tori slapped his face with his palm. "I've never been able to discern certain emotions from another."

"Well, you're going to have to learn because of the event later today," he said getting up from his chair and out the door.

"What event?" I asked.

"You'll find out," he said about to close the door.

"Tori, one last question," I said as he turned around. "Do you know how I need to proceed through this situation?"

"No," he said. "If you look in the top cupboard you'll find a whole bunch of love letters that from people wanting to meet me, and I left them not knowing what to do if I were to be in the same situation you're in right now," he explained as he closed the door behind him.

I was left alone to think and, man, did I think.

"_What was he talking about an event?"_ I asked myself as I felt the wind from outside the window. _"The entire idea of him telling me that was after I told him that I have problems discerning human emotions,"_ I thought walking towards the window. _"Does that mean that today is some psychological game and my class signed me up for that event? Nah, nobody would go for something like that. Maybe it could be that the event is a campus wide live action role playing game and we have to be able to discern only with facial expressions as to whether they are foe or friend? Nah, I'd rather do the psychological evaluation thing than that. Or maybe Tori was talking about something that didn't have to do with my emotional obliviousness, but rather, with my problem with Cassandra. If that's the case then it could be any number of things."_

After I finished my train of thought a knock was at my door so I ran up to it and opened it to find Cassandra's face that seemed slightly embarrassed by the sight of mine.

"H-Hey Itzal? I think we need to talk," she said as she lifted her head up to find that I had already ran from the doorway and jumped out the window. "Hey! Get back here! I wasn't done!" she shouted running from my doorway and out into the hall.

* * *

><p>While outside on school grounds with the festival in full swing I felt relatively safe as I sat down on a bench along the way after I brushed off the snow from last night. I sighed out of relief when suddenly I felt two hands over my eye and patch. I thrust my head forward and looked behind the bench while standing up where I saw Froslass giving me a smile and a wave hello in her own silent tone. She then held up a red flag and waved through the air with a cheerful smile when I heard trembling. On the flag I saw the words scribbled on it, "HE'S RIGHT HERE!"<p>

"Traitor!" I shouted as I ran in the opposite direction of the trembling sound when I looked back to find Cassandra running at top speed.

Froslass waved goodbye and clapped as Cassandra ran past her at top speed.

"And here I thought all ghost-types were sympathetic their elemental comrades," I said to myself as I was left running from the angered Cassandra who seemed to be running faster than a Rapidash on skates.

As I looked behind me I saw that Cassandra was easily gaining on me with an angered look in her eyes. I looked all around me and instantly went straight for the backside of a building. After reaching it I placed my hands together after placing my mask on and then melted into the shadows casted by the building. Cassandra went behind the same building and looked around the darker corners of it.

"I know how you operate, Itzal!" she shouted to make sure I heard it. "You hide in the shadows and then leave when it's most possible. Well, I'm going to sit right down and not leave until you come out!"

"_Great, now what?"_ I asked in thought as Cassandra sat down on a nearby bench waiting for me to show up. _"With it like this, the only thing I can hope for is a distraction to show up, and the chances of it coming here are next to zero."_

As I sat there in the dark I looked back over at Cassandra who hadn't moved from her spot believing that I was still there.

"_Why?" _I asked in thought. _"I run away from her and she still wants to see my one eyed face. I don't deserve this thing from her."_

The two of us stayed motionless for nearly ten minutes before she shifted her position and stood up about to leave. I sighed with relief and began to reappear when she suddenly turned around and charged me putting me in a headlock in between her arms.

"Now, you go nowhere," she said practically choking me while I strained to get her arms off of me. "All right, what's your problem?"

"I figured you would know that much," I said as I finally broke out of her choke hold.

* * *

><p>Just before I could explain my behavior a loud blaring horn was set off all around the campus. We both looked at the area where the sound emanated where I was met with an unfriendly face. High atop the main school building on its domed roof was the figure of a man with long white hair and a brown mask with a long pointed nose. He was wrapped completely in a brown cloak holding a fan to his face. Just by looking at him from my distance I could tell he had his eyes on me and that he was merely going to toy with me like last time.<p>

"Phantom Thief S," I said as Cassandra was barely able to make out his figure.

"Here me now, partakers in this festival!" the rogue said with his voice projecting across the campus. "As per an agreement with one of the class representatives of this school we have devised a very interesting game of campus wide hide and seek! The people who are it…all of you! The person who has to be found and caught…me! The rules are simple! In pairs with the person next to you, you will work together using your best deducing skills to find me and attempt to take this mask of my face! I will have only one hiding place and your clue is somewhere around this campus! If you are able to succeed you can ask me for one request that the both of you decide on! If no one is able I can make a request of one person in the participating group among all of you! You have until seven o' clock tonight to find me! You all know who your partner is?" he asked as I looked to my side to find that Cassandra was already gripping my hand. "Then begin!" he said disappearing from view in a flurry of leaves.

Cassandra, reacting to the order from Shiftry, pulled me along the still snow covered ground as I could barely think. For some reason while Cassandra was gripping me my face felt very hot and my brain felt all fuzzy; a feeling that remained until she let me go as we reached the school building's roof where Shiftry had started from.

* * *

><p>I stayed relatively still while Cassandra pulled out a magnifying glass and a double-billed hat and made her own impression of Sherlock Holmes; a fashion statement that many of the other people searching the roof had shared as they searched for any sign of the clue he had talked about. I rubbed my eyes thinking about the last time I had met up with Shiftry and the troubling thoughts he left me with.<p>

It was back when we had gone to Okinawa for the day to get permission from the sister branch of the school to have the festival here. Shiftry assumed this thief role and attempted to steal a priceless sapphire from the research facility there. I had managed to corner him when he talked to me about the character I assumed in this world that I have come to live in. I remember the day like no other; I had just closed in on him and was then walking towards him.

* * *

><p>"<em>You are under arrest," I said about to close in on him.<em>

"_Quite the character you've become," the thief said as I stopped my advance. "Did you know that you live in an entirely other world as compared to this one? And in it, you are the main character?"_

"_What kind of world is that?"_

"_A world of crime. In this world you live in you assume the role of the detective, but there are many roles that have been assumed in this world you live in. You have your contact," he said making me think of Quilava. "You have a nosy reporter," he said as an image of Umbreon flashed in front of my mind. "You have an archenemy to follow," he said referring to himself. "And lastly, you have a friend, colleague, and maybe more in that girl who follows around," he said as I saw a large image of Cassandra fly in from of me. "Yet there are still many roles that need to be assumed in your world. I'd like to see you find them all. Until then, farewell," he said as a whirlwind whipped up out of nowhere and he disappeared into it._

* * *

><p>I chuckled as I watched Cassandra trying her best to assume the role I had assumed in this world. She looked at everything; every print in the snow, every hair she could find, and even measuring the person next to her to see if they were the thief in disguise. My smile dimmed as I kept thinking about how Shiftry had described Cassandra in my world.<p>

"_And lastly, you have a friend, colleague, and maybe more in that girl who follows around."_

Those words echoes in my head as loud as the words that Cassandra spoke to me last night did. Our conversation after the dance had been in the back of my mind for hours trying to find how she segued into the statement of "I love you." I though back to it as my memory was filled with the memory of last night as the snow feel from the sky and seemed to blanket the ground below.

* * *

><p>"<em>Do you remember the first time you came to school?" she asked.<em>

"_I try not to, but if I recall correctly the teacher and the students, upon my arrival, recoiled back so far there was barely enough room on the wall for them all," I answered looking back at my time in England. "Then when fifth period rolled around you took one look at me and asked me a question. To be honest, I though it would've been about my eye patch, but that wasn't it. You asked, 'My name's Cassandra Yorkshire, what's yours?' After you asked that I froze, I thought to myself, 'How is it that this human isn't afraid of my appearance?' Then it hit me, you were just showing me what others hadn't, kindness. Too bad it took an intruder on school grounds with a fully loaded gun to figure it out."_

"_Well I'm glad you did," she said wrapping her arms around my neck and planting a kiss on my cheek. "Look, Duskull, there's something I wanted to tell you after this whole day was over, but was afraid to because of what happened."_

_I was still blushing from what she did as I saw her blushing as well as she was talking when she finally turned around and shouted something at the top of her lungs._

"_I…I'm in love with you!" she shouted before standing up and running from the scene._

* * *

><p>I chuckled again as the thought of a human falling in love with a Pokémon became less and less of a reality to me. The idea of a human having romantic feelings for such a creature as me seemed implausible and just plain stupid. But as I watched Cassandra trying her hardest against the other participants as some even tried to bump her out of their way. I saw her trying so hard at something she was so unskilled at it reminded of when we were against Quilava in that cooking contest. Quilava and I had just begun to glare at each other and began to converse in telepathy.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Why're doing this to me, Quilava?" I asked.<em>

"_Because ever since we came here, you're the only one who's been swaying in their beliefs," he answered. "I need to know for myself. Since you came here what are your beliefs now?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Isn't it obvious?" Kazan/Quilava asked in response. "Arceus sent us here on the premise that we all have dreams and beliefs that we allow to govern our lives. For me it was always learning to make food, no matter where it was. For some it was just the experience of coming to another world, but you, Arceus sent me a message last week about your sway. Arceus cares about us, but he also doesn't make things easy for us. I'm here to ask you what you want to do with coming here. Specific to coming to this academy."_

_I sat in silence and looked at Cassandra still chopping vegetables and then pricking her fingers from her uncontrollable speed._

"_I wish I knew," I said watching Cassandra in front of me and the number of cheers coming towards her not to give up. "I don't even know why Cassandra, a girl who can't even manage dry toast, is trying so hard to keep me, a person who was ready to leave her in a heartbeat, here."_

"_Maybe because she wants to let you know that no matter what you say or do she'll always be your friend," Quilava said beginning to add spices to his dish. "And maybe to show you that betrayal doesn't have to be your only emotion. Think about everything she's done for you since you came here, and everything she means to you."_

"_She's an annoying, overfriendly, overly cheerful, and a pain in the neck, but she's also caring, accepting, and above all a good friend."_

* * *

><p>My eyes dimmed watching the throng of people as they tried with all their might to stop Cassandra from getting in their way. I looked all around me and saw the spot where Shiftry had disappeared. I looked back at the several buildings with similar roofs and then began to look back and forth faster and faster when it all clicked in my head.<p>

"_I know where the clue is! And I don't need it to find him,"_ I thought as I stood up from my spot and walked over towards Cassandra.

While it was still hard to face her I tapped her shoulder and grabbed her arm as she turned to face me. She struggled to get back to crowd of people looking over at everything.

* * *

><p>We made it to a small café and I ordered two cups of coffee as Cassandra still didn't look too happy with me.<p>

"What was that for?" Cassandra asked angrily looking up at the roof of the building to find that people were beginning to throw snow off the edge.

"I'll tell you," I said keeping my head down. "But first we need to talk."

"Oh, so _now_ you want to talk?" she asked as I simply nodded.

"Why did you say that last night?" I asked as the waitress returned with our order.

"Huh?" Cassandra asked, her expression softening.

"Why did you say that you're in love with me?" I asked as I tried to raise my head, but still found it hard to do.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" she asked. "I mean don't Pokémon fall in love."

"Ghosts don't," I said. "No one knows how Pokémon of our kind can breed, but they just know we do. Other than that, there is no way that a ghost Pokémon has ever felt the need for romantic love in their life. It's to the point where ghost Pokémon cannot fully fathom the idea."

"Is that why you ran away?" she asked as I nodded out of shame. "But why did Missy help me?"

"Froslass can fathom only a small amount of this feeling for two reasons; first, all females of any species find a natural attachment to things like this. Second, she is dominantly an ice type so she can fathom the feeling," I explained. "However, dominantly ghost-types of any gender have no idea how to proceed after this kind of thing happens."

Cassandra looked at me with my head hung low ashamed of how I was acting. She then reached over and ruffled my hair making me look up as she smiled at me with her normal cheerful persona. I smiled a little as she released my hair from her grasp and finished her drink.

"I don't know why I said it," she said as I was able to look at her in the face now. "One of the many beautiful things about love is that it's often spontaneous. Nobody knows when you pop the statement, but when you do it almost feels like you lift a big weight off of your shoulders."

"And then drop it on your victim's," I said as she laughed at my comment.

"Maybe, but in a way it helps the other person mature to know the steps needed to move past it," she said looking up in thought. "But in reality, sometimes you never know if you actually mean it."

"Huh?"

"I've seen my friends get confessed to and it turns out that in a few days the person who confessed to them has already moved on," she said. "But, I've found that to be only true with guys, girls are normally sound in their feeling to know when it's the right time to say it. The only thing they're never sure about is the person they confess to."

"For some reason, that makes me feel better," I said smiling. "But I have to ask, if you can wait for my answer," I said bowing to her as she giggled.

"Fine, but it's not polite to keep a lady waiting for too long," she said pointing a reprimanding finger at me. "So, why did you pull me away anyway?"

"Two reasons," I said. "It was hard to see an amateur fail like that," I said as she puffed her cheeks. "And I know how to find him," I said quietly.

"And how do you know that?" Cassandra asked. "You weren't gathering all that evidence."

"Planted evidence," I said as I began to explain my reasoning. "The adjacent roof is of the same design," I said pointing to a school building right next to other. "What Shiftry did was he planted evidence to make all the people believe their eyes that he was on the main school building roof when he was really on the adjacent building. To do this all you need is a projection system like what magicians use. And given that this school is based on performing arts such items are easy to secure. So Shiftry posted his message to the school on the adjacent building and using the projector he made an image on the other building staying hidden from view from the trees covering the building. Because they have a similar architecture his feet placement on the roof didn't seem strange given that they had cameras everywhere focused on every part of his body. For his voice he rigged a sound system with speakers he covered in the snow. I was sitting on one of them while you were all fooled by his trick."

"So where's the projector for the projected image?" Cassandra asked. "He would need at least two projectors to pull this off."

"That's the clue," I said as she looked at me expectantly. "Shiftry only steals gems, so he always returns everything else."

* * *

><p>In the school's walls Cassandra and I had gone to the performing arts supply room and placed our ears next to the door where we heard shuffling. Cassandra stood back as I placed my hands in front of the door as my mask fell onto my face wrapping me in the cloak. I opened my eyes in the mask and a large Shadow Ball attack shot out of my hands opening the door where we both saw Shiftry putting the equipment away.<p>

"So you found my hiding place have you?" he asked turning around with the fan still near his face.

"And now we're unmasking you for the world to see," Cassandra said running at him and thrusting a fist at him.

Shiftry chuckled as he easily dodged Cassandra's assault punch after punch. He then was forced into a corner where he felt even more confident.

"No surprise attacks from here," he said placing the fan in front of him in defense.

"Think so?" Cassandra asked placing her hands on her hips as Shiftry looked at her confused.

"What?" he asked as he saw two gloved hands appear behind him.

"This is one of the finer points of ghost types," I said with my masked face coming out of the wall behind him. "Voluntary intangibility. And now, we win!"

As I reached to pull off the mask I noticed my hand passed right through him. I looked at the scene surprised as I walked out of the wall and noticed that Shiftry was chuckling.

"If I can use this trick once, why not twice?" he asked rhetorically pointing behind him as he made note of a projector behind him. "Looks like I win," he said noticing the time.

* * *

><p>We both ran out of the school building as he reappeared on the roof with a microphone in his hand.<p>

"Times up!" he announced as the students looked at him disappointed. "Now my request goes out to the little girl named Alice and her guardian Johan!" he said as the two made their way out to the middle of the crowd. I looked at Typhlosion who looked defeated as not being able to catch Shiftry. "My request to you is that you start the fighting tournament for this academy tomorrow instead of the day after!"

The audience cheered as the microphone was thrown down to Typhlosion who then handed it to the little girl.

"You got yourself a deal!" she announced as the audience cheered again.

Shiftry pulled the brown cloak over his masked face and then disappeared into the leaves he conjured out of nowhere.

* * *

><p>"Too bad we couldn't catch him, huh, Itzal?" Cassandra asked as we walked back to the dorm rooms.<p>

"I guess," I said as I was reflecting on the day. "And Cassandra? Why don't you just call me Duskull?" I asked her as she turned to face me.

"Would that be okay?" she asked as I laughed and nodded.

She then jumped me and hugged me as she basically spun around me while gripping onto my neck.

"_I know why you did this, Shiftry," _I thought. _"The whole idea behind this wasn't to test to see if my world had grown larger, but to help me with my problem with Cassandra. You talked to Tori and convinced him that I was upset about something. You were probably spying on us during the dance and that's how you knew. You waited until Cassandra and I were together and then forced us into being partners despite our current problems, and waited for us to mend fences. After we were able to move past it you employed your projection trick to leave us with a final present. The final day together. With the tournament tomorrow and the day after that leaves us the last day together to spend it as we wish. All I have to say is thanks you foul thief. But great friend."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Froslass (Missy) played by Mew-Mew Pachirisu

Shiftry (Phantom Thief S) played by The Guardian 1412

Typhlosion (Johan) played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

* * *

><p>Chapter seventeen complete. Sorry that this update was so slow, but you know how it is with some chapter; some are easy others aren't. So we know that the tournament is starting tomorrow instead of in two days. I hope you'll all wait in anticipation for the Thursday and Friday tournament that'll probably last for about sixteen chapters. I've got two words for this: EPIC SAUCE. And two words for you all: HAPPY HOLIDAYS from you friendly writer Nightfall00.<p>

Chapter eighteen preview: The tournament starts with the battles between Zoroark and Flygon and then after that Gallade and Grovyle. Who will win, who will lose, and who is the rogue that Duskull is supposed to be looking for. Next time: Fighting with Humans, Battles 1 and 2.

* * *

><p>Over the series of tournament chapters I would like to what you think will happen and who your suspicion is on for the rogue throughout this whole messed up thing. And also a final note, during this tournament I will be using one chapter for two battles to make sure this doesn't last for too long. Ja nee.<p>

PEACE ON EARTH AND GOOD WILL TO ALL MEN


	19. Fighting with Humans, Battles 1 and 2

Here's chapter eighteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now as we all know this chapter marks the beginning of the much anticipated fighting tournament section of this arc. Now as described in the last chapter these chapters are broken up into two sections; one for the first battle of the chapter and one for the second battle or else I'd be having at least thirty different chapters for all these battles and then it just turns into a mess to keep track of. Well, I hope you enjoy this next chapter of the next installment of Pokémon Gijinka: Walking Among Us.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 18: Fighting with Humans; Battles 1 and 2<p>

Fireworks were set off into the morning sky as they exploded into small puffs of smoke in the chilled air. Snow had stopped falling over the academy, but large amounts of it still remained. I hiked through the snow as my feet sank into it between steps towards the tournament hall. The specialized area I had inspected just three days prior was now bustling with activity as spectators began pouring in ready to watch the fighting matches that were sure to be nothing like they had ever seen.

Arriving at the back of the line I looked at my watch to find the time at 7:00; one hour before the tournament actually began. I waited patiently when I felt something hit my head and I turned around to find Alice on Typhlosion's shoulders as she pointed to a sign that read "Competitors."

"I'm not a competitor," I reminded them as I took my place back in line.

"But we are naming you an honorary spectator," Typhlosion said as he picked me up by the collar of coat and carried me up into the higher stands.

Walking up the last half of the stairs myself I walked into the higher viewing platform to find the vast majority of the competitors up in the stands along with Beautifly, Froslass, Lopunny, Drowzee, Kirlia, Cassandra, and Kimiko. I joined the small group and looked all around me to find no sign of Zoroark, the Flygon, Gallade, and Grovyle from the prelims or Tori as I suspected he was still sleeping.

"The first match is Zoroark versus Flygon, huh?" I said to myself looking over the edge at the twenty foot by twenty foot square in the center of the stage surrounded on all sides by water. "Just based on typing it could go either way, but based on a preliminary power check during the preliminaries Zoroark is the sure one to win. Also, with the added knowledge that he's a Cursed Pokémon, and one that has partial control of his power doesn't seem to help Flygon's chances."

"Way to show confidence in the under-dog," Drowzee said from behind me placing his hand on my shoulder. "But try not to count other's out too quickly."

"Maybe," I said. "But I'm just making an inference based on the available data. But on the other hand watching the fighting style of Flygon in the prelims I can deduce she's a more technical fighter who can use both qualities of fighting to help her."

"Well, we'll see," Drowzee said as Alice pounded on a gong behind her with a large mallet.

* * *

><p>"Welcome, guests to the Sakura Gakuen Festival Fighting Tournament!" she announced over the loud speaker as the audience cheered in affirmation. "Due to extraneous circumstances involving the notorious Phantom Thief S we have moved the tournament's date to today allowing the final day to spend on the basic enjoyment of the festival. Before we begin today's first two rounds I must announce this here and now; any form of recording of this event is prohibited as made apparent by the temporary confiscation of all cell phones, video cameras, digital cameras, and such until the end of the day's rounds. Your items will be returned to you at the end of the day. The rules of this tournament are, there is no time limit and the use of all bladed and otherwise potential life threatening weapons is prohibited. So let's meet our first two fighters. From the country of America, a martial arts instructor Temno Ubiitsa," she announced as Zoroark walked across the wooden bridge to the square fighting ring in the middle in his apparent ninja outfit with the red accents. "And from the country of Spain, an explorer of more arid regions Latisha," she said as the Flygon walked slowly onto the stage.<p>

Having not seen her since the tournament her outfit became more familiar to me as she walked out. She was about five foot three inches with a slim build, spiky brown hair with light green highlights. She wore a dirty green bomber jacket over a dark green shirt, short beige shorts, gray knee-high socks, and dark green sneakers. Upon closer inspection I could see she was also wearing a pair of red shaded sunglasses.

Both Zoroark and Flygon made fighting stances as Alice held up the mallet once again.

"And…FIGHT!" she shouted hitting the gong again as it rang throughout the fighting arena.

While the audience seemed wild in anticipation the two fighters on stage stayed relatively motionless. I watched both of them studying their stillness as Zoroark seemingly made the first move in shifting his foot. The audience remained quiet waiting for some action when Flygon held up her hand and made a motion for Zoroark to begin.

"It's your loss," he said as he disappeared from view charging Flygon at an incredible rate of speed. "Take this," he said suddenly jumping upwards. "Sucker Punch!"

Flygon remained still as she simply opened her mouth and whistled softly through her teeth. The sound could be heard throughout the stadium despite its quiet tone. Zoroark landed on the ground and proceeded to punch at Flygon as it connected with her mid section. Zoroark chuckled as he looked at Flygon in front of him with no reaction from the attack whatsoever and still whistling. While listening to the sound Zoroark cringed and tried to block out the sound the best he could.

"What just happened?" Cassandra asked. "That punch hit her, didn't it?"

"Yes and no," I answered. "The attack Sucker Punch is a tricky thing. It always ensures that you attack before your opponent, but with that power it comes at the price that your opponent has the intention of using an offensive move. Because Flygon is simply using a Supersonic attack Sucker Punch has no effect. And now Zoroark is now afflicted by the Supersonic's power."

Zoroark fumbled out of the sound as Flygon stopped whistling and watched as Zoroark tried and stumbled in his footing. She smiled confidently and charged towards him.

"My move," she said as she held out her hand. The fingers of her hand became engulfed in a multi-colored fire that sharpened itself into a set of claws. "Dragon Claw!" she called out slashing across Zoroark's body sending him to the edge of the fighting stadium.

"While affected by Supersonic, or a move very similar to it, you enter into state of temporary confusion that can cause you to become disoriented and introduces the possibility of hurting oneself," Lopunny explained as Zoroark fumbled back to his feet. "But it won't be much of a problem for Zoroark."

"How do you mean?" Kimiko asked.

Lopunny pointed her hand outwards towards Zoroark who stood up straight as he dropped the stem of what looked like an apple. I looked at it suspiciously and then at Lopunny who nodded in affirmation.

"So, based on our altered human DNA we're affected by the different natural fruits of the world as we would be by berries," I explained to myself as Lopunny. "How did you discover this?"

"The condition of a Cursed Pokémon can be attributed to a state of confusion and after some experimenting I found that confusion can be healed by the use an apple, much like a Persim berry can back in our world," she answered as Zoroark stabilized his footing and took another fighting stance.

"Finally, some excitement," Flygon said making a similar stance with her hands out. "Dragon Claw!" she shouted as her fingers were once again engulfed in the sharpened multi-colored fire.

"Then I'll match you," Zoroark said taking off his gloves revealing his claws. "Night Slash!" he shouted as his three claws were engulfed in a harsh blackened light.

The three jumped off the ground and began to have their own sword fight using only slashing movements with their claws. The two Pokémon collided with each other several times until they were both facing each other with a ten foot gap and then closed it within seconds. The two slashed forward and both made a similar sized gap while facing away from each other both with slash marks across their faces from the other's attack.

"It looks like we're on equal ground," Flygon said standing up and turning her gaze to Zoroark who could only chuckle.

"Not quite," he said placing his two hands together and extending the index and middle finger while closing the other fingers. A circle appeared around him as three images of himself appeared on both sides of him making a total of seven images of Zoroark with no way to tell which the real one was.

"Double Team?" Beautifly asked trying to identify the attack.

"No," Lopunny corrected. "That's just Zoroark."

"You mean he can use actual ninja tactics?" Drowzee asked as Lopunny nodded.

"Go ahead," three of the Zoroark images said in unison. "Figure out which is real one," the other four said in a similar fashion.

"Easy," Flygon said jumping into the air and staying afloat in mid air looking down at the seven images. "Found you," she said looking at the "V" shaped form of the images pointing and charging the one on the far left.

"How about now?" the seven asked as the clumped together and spread themselves out in seconds doing this for several times as Flygon still dived down from the sky at break-neck speed.

"Doesn't matter," she said cupping her right hand around her mouth. "Flamethrower!" she called and breathed out as a blast of continuous fire traveled towards the seven images just as they came back to together to spread out.

The seven images were then engulfed in the flames and all of them disappeared. The audience was left stunned at the technique just displayed by the girl who seemed barely eighteen. Flygon touched down on the ground and looked all around her. Not finding Zoroark within sight she closed her eyes and placed her fingers on the left lens of her glasses and opened her eyes.

"What's she doing?" Kimiko asked.

"Those glasses are her Enabler," I said. "At least that's my guess. But they also act as an Amplifier. When activated by feeling pressure the glasses send a message to the brain heightening the reflexes it can react at. She uses them to increases her senses of sight in the right eye, hearing, and smell. She's trying to find where Zoroark is right now."

"But he isn't anywhere," Cassandra noted on the other side of me. "Not even in the air."

"You're right, he's not in the air," I said. "But what if he _is_ the air," I said making the two look at me confused. "Zoroark and its pre-evolutionary form Zorua have the power to change their forms into illusions. If that's true why not disappear into the air in the same way as he was attacked by the Flamethrower?"

"Found you," Flygon said smiling bringing her head up and swinging a kick behind her feeling a slight touch of his hair as he tried to dodge the attack.

"You're good," Zoroark admitted. "But not good enough," he said bringing out his hand and charging at Flygon.

Flygon activated another Dragon Claw and slashing Zoroark while dodging backwards. Zoroark dodged all the slashes in mid-air and cornered her at the edge of the fighting ring as he simply smiled.

"How'd he dodge all those attacks?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a tactic called Detect," Drowzee explained.

"It heightens the reactions of a Pokémon making them able to dodge attacks at what would seem impossible from the angles," Kirlia said finally joining the conversation. "But if I know Flygon, she won't give up just on that."

"Do you know her?" I asked.

"No, not really," Kirlia said. "But her might," she said pointing at the youngest fighter sitting in the corner with his purple hood up.

"Ekans?" I asked. "How would he know?"

"Ekans is an honors student and sent to a lot of different places in Europe," Kirlia explained as the boy sat with his back hunched over seemingly hiding behind his hood. "He's normally from Italy, but he has been to every country in Europe besides England."

While I contemplated talking to him I looked back at my sides to find Cassandra and Kimiko no longer there. I looked over my shoulder to see them trying to talk to Ekans who simply looked up at them and tilted his head back down. The two tried for what seemed five minutes while the battle still continued and had become more of a martial arts expo.

Flygon jumped up from her trapped position and swung a kick around to Zoroark who arched his back backwards like in a game of limbo and dodged the attack. Making a rotation with his body Zoroark made a similar kick motion only for it to be caught, not dodged, by Flygon. Zoroark chuckled nervously as Flygon thrust him over her head and threw him across the stadium. Zoroark skidded across the stadium boards and ended about five feet from the end. He got back up to his feet and lifted his head just as Flygon was at his face and slashed his body with a Dragon Claw. Zoroark flew across the water and into the wooden frame of one of the stands. As the smoke cleared Flygon cupped her hand around her mouth and prepared for another impact from Zoroark.

Out of the smoke Zoroark walked out, almost vindictively, with his hands limp and the three claws on his fingers glowing. He then tensed his hands and looked up with his eyes shining a spectral red and an angry expression on his face. He then disappeared as he charged Flygon and appeared behind him and back fisted her across the stadium. As Flygon rose to her feet Zoroark used the same tactic and continued to do so until it seemed that Flygon was down for good.

"It looks like challenger Latisha is unable to battle so the winner is…" Alice said but was cut off when I put my hand in front of her.

"Let's wait for a bit," I said as she quietly nodded.

Zoroark circled in his footsteps on the battle field as Flygon stayed on the ground almost motionless; almost. Looking down I could see her counting something on her fingers. I looked back and forth from the two and that the movements of Flygon's finger was the same as Zoroark's footsteps.

"_Her Amplifier is activated while on the ground like that," _I thought to myself. _"She can tell when Zoroark is stepping by enhancing her sense of touch in the vibrations on the ground. If she can tell when he walks; she can tell when to move. The pattern that Zoroark walks in is like the face of a clock. He's made three rotations in a minute meaning that Flygon can tell where he'll end up just based on the number of seconds. The only blind spots are at the equivalents for 2, 3, and 4 o' clock. These are at the points where the wind blows against Zoroark and he can't see past his hair."_

Flygon continued to count until Zoroark was at the ideal place when she instantly stood up and by the time he reached the equivalent of 5:00 on a clock face Flygon had already gripped onto his arm and slashed him with a Dragon Claw. Still gripping onto his arm Flygon shot into the air and gripped onto him as the two both dove down. Before they both hit Flygon threw Zoroark down towards the stadium. He hit the stadium causes a small dent in the wood, but still able to battle.

"Flamethrower!" Flygon shouted still heading downward. The flames erupted in a near explosion as they engulfed Zoroark.

The final move was made as the flames were extinguished over time in the wind and Flygon was still diving down. She prepared a Dragon Claw and a near crazed Zoroark did the same with a Night Slash. The two collided at the spot where Zoroark landed and the two produced a loud explosion that covered the edges of the of the stadium in smoke that no one could see through until it began to clear and the two Pokémon were left standing while staring at each other. Flygon looked at a shocked Zoroark who was panting as he fell over.

"Temno Ubiitsa is unable to fight! The winner of Battle 1 is Latisha!" Alice declared as the audience cheered.

Flygon offered Zoroark her hand which he was hesitant to take, but took after Flygon basically forced it on him. She carried his arm over her shoulder as the two went to the infirmary for their injuries. Lopunny ran from the stands to check on Zoroark as we did the same. Ekans followed shortly after us as a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows shot him an angry look.

* * *

><p>While in the infirmary Zoroark and Flygon were both checked out by the doctor who said they both needed some rest. Zoroark went to the bed with a depressed look on his face as he looked back at Flygon.<p>

"I apologize for losing my temper," he said as Flygon almost laughed.

"You kidding me?" she asked sarcastically. "That was the best! I thought you had me there for a while."

"Was it the curse?" I asked from the side opposite of Flygon.

"I don't know," he said. "For some reason my temper went out of control."

"I'll have to look into this," I said as I left the room and I ran into Ekans who really was short enough for me not to see him. "You ready to talk now?" I asked annoyed.

"I am," he said in a very young voice. "I couldn't say anything there with everyone watching. They might use it against her. Flygon is probably my only friend."

"You're _that_ Ekans?" Flygon asked as he simply nodded showing a scar on the right side of his face.

"I was abandoned by my trainer after a battle with an opponent that he saw as weak," Ekans explained. "I wandered the desert for days where my trainer dumped me. I collapsed in the middle of the desert where I thought I would never make it out. Until she found me. She picked me up in her claws and carried me back to a nearby Pokémon Center where they took care of me until they relocated me to a more hospitable area for my kind. I made a promise to never be seen as weak again so I wouldn't be a burden to anyone anymore."

"When I helped that Ekans," Flygon started. "He was definitely abused by his trainer as made apparent by the scar on his right side made by a short whip. I didn't pity him though. And it was all for the reason that he kept trying despite all that. I just wanted to help him."

"I apologize for being so cryptic about knowing Flygon," Ekans said bowing before heading back.

"We had better be getting back too," Cassandra said looking at the time. "The next match will be starting soon."

"You guys go ahead," Flygon said. "We'll just stay here," she said referring to Zoroark and Lopunny.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was sure exciting, wasn't it?" Alice asked the audience who all cheered in agreement. "Now, without delay, let's start Battle 2! From the country of Japan, a twelve year old fighter with more speed than he knows what to do with, Agata!" she said as the young Grovyle from the prelims came out waving his hands and winking at any girl he saw.<p>

I familiarized myself with Grovyle's appearance as quickly as he came out. He was a young boy about five foot three with tanned skin and dark brown hair styled in a pony tail with some of his hair falling over his face, a tooth pick in his mouth, a pair of sunglasses, a purple striped shirt under a green jacket, and a pair of black jeans.

"And now from parts unknown probably the closest thing we have to a samurai…Tsubasa!" Alice announced as the silent Gallade came into the open.

As with Grovyle I familiarized myself with his appearance. He seemed a bit short for his height just barely above five foot five with a fit build and dark colored hair underneath a green fedora with a light blue band wearing a white turtle neck with the ends of the sleeves being a light green color, and green athletic sweat pants with a dark line down the pant leg. He was also now wearing a loosely fit belt with the two wooden kendo swords form the prelims hanging from them.

"_Just based on pure power levels the Gallade is the obvious choice, but with that Grovyle's agility it's extremely hard to tell the outcome just by looking at the two. This first few minutes of this fight will give me more information," _I thought as I looked down at the two with very different demeanors. Grovyle seemed to have a real playboy attitude while the Gallade seemed completely dead to all emotion.

"Well, talk about a match for just pure eye candy, huh?" Alice asked as the female audience squealed in delight at seeing the two fighters. "Now fighters…START!" she shouted as she again rang the gong with the large mallet.

Grovyle made the first move by making a speedy run towards Gallade with his fist outward. As he came within inches of Gallade Grovyle chuckled and thrust his fist ready to punch him. Gallade instead simply tilted his head to the right dodging the punch and then move aside as Grovyle sped past him. Gallade looked at Grovyle with little to no emotion in his eyes as he took one of the swords he had attached to his belt and held it out in front of him and pointed towards Grovyle.

Grovyle then began to speed all around Gallade who allowed the wind to pass by him with only the brim of his hat and his hair fluttering in its velocity. Gallade then walked to the edge of the perimeter made by Grovyle and placed his sword in front of him causing Grovyle to take it in his gut making him almost fall over.

"Cheap shot," he said trying to coordinate himself. "That was just lucky."

"I don't believe in luck," Gallade said bringing the sword above his head and thrusting it straight down giving a small window of opportunity for Grovyle to dodge.

Just barely making the window Grovyle looked at the ground below him to find it destroyed by the sword's force. He chuckled nervously as Gallade went on the offensive swinging the sword in all directions making a nervous Grovyle try his best to dodge all of them with barely enough time to prepare for the next attack.

* * *

><p>"That's rough," Kimiko said. "What is that guy thinking?"<p>

"And that's just one sword," Kirlia said watching the two of them fighting noticing the second sword was still hanging onto his belt. "He's only dangerous with one, but he's deadly with two."

"How do you know?" Cassandra asked.

"Because they're siblings," I said not taking my eyes off the match. "Right?"

"Correct, that Gallade over there is my younger brother," Kirlia said. "Save for a few chances encounters I've never seen my brother in his Gallade form. He was born in a village that only accepted a Kirlia to evolve into a Gardevoir. But my brother was born with a nature known as Adamant. In the world of Pokémon certain natures bring out different stat growths and Adamant is one of the most sought after. The only problem that it would have made him the weakest Gardevoir ever. Gardevoir are generally Pokémon that attack from a distance or what we call the Special Attack style. An Adamant nature can only raise a Pokémon's regular Attack, or physical attacks, style and lower the Special Attack power. Seeing this early our parents attempted to hide him from the village and that there was never a son in our family. But as time went on my brother eventually found his way into the outside world when he evolved into a Kirlia."

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked.

"He saw us all playing a game where we pass the ball from one side to another, very similar to volley ball. When my brother joined in the ball headed for him, but since he was never trained he acted on instinct jumping up and kicking the ball," Kirlia explained. "The elder heard about this and had him brought to him. After an inspection it was declared that my brother was of an Adamant nature and the one who must never battle."

"What did he do? Your brother?" Kimiko asked.

"He ran away and trained his fists and feet until he was caught in the rain and a rockslide forced him into a cave," Kirlia said imagining the scene in her mind. "He told me about this in a telepathic message. He found a special stone that would let him become more powerful. The Dawn Stone.

"One day, our village was attacked by a pack of Mightyena and I was almost unconscious when I saw one of the Mightyena being fought back. I watched this Gallade battle with blurred vision and when I saw his kick it reminded so much of my brother's kick from the game."

* * *

><p>Back on the battlefield Gallade showed no emotion as with only one sword he was still forcing Grovyle back until Grovyle finally kicked the blade in his hand back and he punched his chest with a terrifying speed. Gallade cringed slightly and began to chuckle as he looked down at Grovyle.<p>

"What's your problem?" he asked.

"You are the first person in nearly two years to be able to attack me," Gallade said reaching across his body to grab the second sword. "Now I know your more than just a gambler."

"What did you call me?" Grovyle asked.

"Just what you are," Gallade replied. "You sneak into casinos and gamble to your heart's content. You taunt well known gambling addicts and beat them for their money."

"It's not like I waste the money," he said. "I give some of it to charity. And like you're any better, hiding from your own family."

"Say that again," Gallade challengingly.

"I'll say it as many times as I want," Grovyle said repositioning the toothpick. "You're nothing but a coward because you weren't allowed to fight," he reiterated while laughing when he was blasted back.

Looking down at the scene I could see that as Gallade slashed his swords at the same time they produced a slash of complete energy that continued an onslaught on Grovyle.

"Psycho Cut," I said recognizing the attack. "You could call it Gallade's trademark. It takes his own physical energy mixed with his psychic power and creates a long range slash that is all based on a Pokémon's _physical _power. Grovyle is a con artist you could say. I did a little bit of looking into some of the characters in this tournament and I found that Grovyle as Agata is notorious for sneaking into casinos around the country and winning with big payouts because he has a natural ability for coaxing people to do what they want. The only difference here is that when battling against a Pokémon as powerful as Gallade you can never hope to win on a gamble."

Gallade continued using the Psycho Cut attack ever time missing Grovyle just barely as Grovyle continued taunting him while dodging.

"It's too bad," he said as Gallade looked back up at him. "With all your power and all your abilities you will never hope to find peace with yourself. Or your family. You'll continue to run from your problem and by coming here you have taken the ultimate first step in becoming the coward you are."

"I never…" Gallade started as he stopped his attack. "I never ran from anything in my life!"

"Hold onto that, it'll help you through the harder times," Grovyle said as he sneered.

"You have conjecture, I have truth," Gallade said calming down. "You don't know why I did what I did. I do. And that's all I need."

Grovyle took advantage of his opportunity and attacked Gallade from behind by seemingly planting something on his body.

"What is this?" Gallade asked as vines began to surround his body and he fell dropping the swords as the vines began glowing a harsh shade of red.

"Leech Seed," Grovyle said as Gallade's energy was slowly sapped away and added to Grovyle's.

Gallade cringed against the force when his eyes opened in realization and Grovyle was watching him with an expectant face.

"It's too much for me," he said trying to struggle against the vines. "What Pokémon did you win this tactic off of?"

"_What is he doing?"_ I asked.

"What does that mean?" Grovyle asked with his eye twitching.

"Just what I said," Gallade said as he did before. "You never did anything by yourself, you had to gamble, and win it off of someone. Who taught it to you? An Ivysaur? Maybe a Gloom? Or maybe a Treeko?"

After hearing that Grovyle looked down at Gallade with an angered look as he held out his hands and two blades made out of energy appeared in both of them.

"Here we go," I said covering my eyes.

"Huh?" Cassandra asked.

"Gallade's gonna get it now," Kirlia said.

"What?" Kimiko asked.

"Shouldn't have down that," Drowzee said.

"What does it mean?" Kimiko and Cassandra asked angrily.

"One thing you don't do to a Grovyle is compare it to its pre-evolutionary form Treeko. As basically proud Pokémon they feel as though you've basically violated their power," I explained. "And then they tend to go on a rampage against the violator."

We all looked down to find Grovyle slashing at Gallade like before but in reverse. Gallade has risen to his feet just barely and was trying his best to dodge when Grovyle brought the sword above his head and slashed downward. Gallade thrust out his chest as the vines were slashed freeing Gallade from the Leech Seed. Gallade was dodging with a smile on his face until he was struck across the gut by one of the swords and he rolled past his own swords and picked them up.

"Leaf Blade, huh?" he asked. "A powerful move if there ever was one. Too bad, you're not the only one who can use it," he said as he held both swords outward and they became engulfed in a harsh green light. "Let's dance."

The two began their own sword fight like something out of a sci-fi move using the dual swords with as much accuracy as a martial arts master blocking each other's attack just as quickly as they were made.

"What did you mean?" Grovyle asked. "When you said that you had the truth?"

"Beat me, and I'll tell you," Gallade said as he held both of his swords against his body; one on his back, and the other to his side.

He began flourishing the two swords in a circling motion on both sides much like a buzz saw and just as quick due to Grovyle's inability to keep up with the sheer mastery of swordsmanship. Gallade and Grovyle both stopped the attack and let the swords leave their hands. As Grovyle's disappeared Gallade placed them both back on his belt and made a fighting stance as did Grovyle as they charged each other.

"What's your plan now?" Grovyle asked while in a close combat fight with Gallade. "You have much less health than I do from the Leech Seed. What do you plan to do?"

"Go all out," Gallade said crouching down about three feet away from Grovyle. "Close Combat!"

Gallade disappeared for a few seconds and then reappeared behind Grovyle as he punched his back launching him forward. Before Grovyle had ended flying forward Gallade appeared behind him again and kicked upward with his knee and launched him skyward. While in the air Grovyle looked all around him but found no sign of Gallade. As he turned his head a second time he saw Gallade in front of him. Gallade then brought his leg above his head and kicked downward on Grovyle as he hit the ground with a crash almost through the wood of the stadium.

Gallade landed on his feet and looked over at Grovyle who took one look at Gallade and burst out in laughter. Gallade also began laughing and helped Grovyle up as the two shook hands and Grovyle raised his hand.

"I concede!" he shouted as he made a pose to some of the audience and the female half of it all swooned and fainted.

"A real charmer, ain't you?" Gallade asked. "Sorry, this means you lose our deal."

"I don't need to know the truth anymore," Grovyle said. "If it works for you, I don't need it."

Grovyle willingly walked from the stadium and to the infirmary as my gaze was fixed on Gallade.

* * *

><p>"<em>Could he be the rogue? For a person who went against the code of his own village and with that much power it's definitely possible. But I must find out this truth before I can eliminate him from the list."<em>

"Will the next four fighters please report to the waiting room while we make repairs on the stadium?" Alice said as I looked at the four passing by me.

"_Typhlosion,"_ I thought as he went by. _"Riolu, Torterra, and Gengar. Looks like the next couple rounds don't have anything to do with my case. Torterra is too gentle and Riolu is just simple child. But I need information on all these fighters. So you can bet on my ever-watchful eye looking at you all."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Typhlosion (Johan) played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Beautifly (Mariposa) played by Penny From Heaven14

Kirlia (Hanna) played by LunaHozuki666

Froslass (Missy) played by Mew-Mew Pachirisu

Lopunny (Zamorozhennye) played by Dragoonian

Drowzee (Id) played by The Helpless Romantic

Zoroark (Temno) played by Dragoonian

Flygon (Latisha) played by Mossyhairundys

Ekans (Veleno) played by Bionicleguru

Gallade (Tsubasa) played by Nightfall00

Grovyle (Agata) played by The Guardian 1412

* * *

><p>Chapter eighteen complete. Man I'm good, at least I think so. Let me know how you think this went and your predictions about the rogue and the next two battles; Riolu v. Torterra and Typhlosion v. Gengar. Also, since he's finally been introduced here's the OC form for TsubasaGallade:

* * *

><p>Name: TsubasaGallade/Male (if that wasn't obvious)

Apparent Age: 15

Appearance in Human Form: About five foot five with dark colored hair (think of it like a black mixed with green), a thin build with strong but skinny arms

Traits borrowed from original Pokémon form: Swordsmanship skills

Life in the Pokémon world: An outcast for his Adamant nature in a village of all Gardevoir hopefuls Tsubasa tried his hardest to show them the power of their hands and may have succeeded when he saved his village from a pack of angry Mightyena, but he didn't stick around too long to be thanked

Attitude towards being sent to our world: As this was his own choice Tsubasa is more accepting of this world than Duskull is

Basic Personality: Think of a cross between a basic high schooler and a samurai. He knows how to have fun; it just has trouble showing itself. Tsubasa normally doesn't get jokes all that easily but he's more quick on his feet in both terms of fighting and thinking

Base of Operation: Drifter

Occupation: An independent contractor doing any job that he'll be accepted for

Attracted to: No one, but he can enter into a relationship if he found a reason to be

Copied accents: A normal American accent as he landed in on the west coast of the states

Available Moveset: Leaf Blade, Psycho Cut, Close Combat, False Swipe (Lv. 59)

Outfit: A white turtle neck with the sleeves halfway down being green; a pair of white athletic pants that have a dark colored line like his hair down the leg, hiking boots, a loose fitted belt around his waist to hold his swords, and a green colored fedora hat with a light blue band around it

Clothing: Same as outfit, the only luggage he ever carries is his swords

Formal (the only thing he'll change his regular clothes for): a white tuxedo with a green neck tie

Specialties: sword fighting, endurance in travel

Additional notes: His swords have Japanese kanji written in them for "Truth" and "Peace"

* * *

><p>Chapter nineteen preview: The tournament continues with Riolu and Torterra fighting as well as Typhlosion and Gengar doing battle. With all these battles and observation will Duskull ever find the rogue before it's too late? Next time: Fighting with Humans, Battles 3 and 4.<p> 


	20. Fighting with Humans, Battles 3 and 4

Here's chapter nineteen of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Now that we have started the tournament I hope you all feel like you've been getting your money's worth…but that's not saying much given that you can read this for free. Well now we get a bit into a battle that has nothing to do with the rogue, but given that the rogue is among three suspects this could take a while. Hope you enjoy, and hopefully I'll get better at this battle sequence thing.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19: Fighting with Humans; Battles 3 and 4<p>

I looked down at my watch and found the time at 11:00. I looked down at the fast repairs of the stadium and that after they were done it was 11:02. I shook my head in amazement as I looked at the next two battles that would commence in the next hour or so. The first was a battle with the two Pokémon named Danny and Forrest, or as I knew them to be Riolu and Torterra respectively.

Alice walked up to the giant gong at the center point of the high stands and put on a pair of earplugs and swung at the gong as hard as she could knocking most of us over from the sound.

"A little discretion next time, please!" I shouted at her as she nonchalantly took out the earplugs and raised the microphone to her mouth.

"Now that the repairs are done let's get right down to our next match!" she shouted as the audience shouted in agreement. "Then without further ado let's introduce the next round's fighters. First, a local fighter and student at a martial arts dojo please welcome Danny!" she shouted as the young Riolu came out onto the stage among the cheering audience.

Riolu had a calm expression on his face no longer wearing the mask I saw him in last night, instead he was a band over his forehead. This made his dark blue hair completely visible as it reached down to his shoulders. He was still wearing his gloves with the round studs on them, dark blue t-shirt, and black jeans. As a stray wind blew his hair into his face he simply brushed it from his face making a large amount of the female audience faint.

"And, from all the way in the forests of Yellowstone Park in the United States please welcome the mysterious Forrest!" Alice called as Torterra's large build came onto the stage.

He was still wearing the same style of clothes that I saw him wear when I first met him and during the prelims for this tournament consisting of that custom made jacket with the tree and pyramid sewed into the back. The two Pokémon took the stage as they both displayed a melancholy expression.

"If you back out now, I will still commend you for making it past the preliminaries," Torterra said. "I really would find it displeasing to cause you harm."

"Just practice saying one single word," Riolu started in return. "Uncle."

* * *

><p>"A Riolu against a Torterra isn't much of a match in hindsight," I noted. "Torterra is so much of a defensive and physical juggernaut that it makes it hard to penetrate his defenses. On the other hand, with concentration on a single point Riolu can use his speed against Torterra's slow moving nature to have a chance, but overall, I'd say Torterra has this one in the bag."<p>

"Well, with Torterra you never really know," Empoleon said leaning over the side rail. "Torterra came here for two reasons. The first is the same reason why all three of us came, our masters commanded us to. The second is to be able to experience things he never could have as in his Pokémon form."

"You mean that leaf whistle?" I asked looking at the two competitors as they waited for the signal.

"Yep," Empoleon answered. "Torterra was abandoned by his trainer early on in their journey as a Turtwig and had since been taken care of by a tribe of Nuzleaf and Shiftry. If anything, he was entranced by the beautiful melody that came from the leaf whistle. But as he was he could never hope to learn how to make that music. Going to this world gave him the opportunity and he never really has stopped practicing it."

"Hmm, so he's more of a gentle giant?" a small hoarse whisper came from behind us said. Turning around we eyed the one I had my eyes on since the beginning; Toxicroak. "So, he's nothing but a big softy waiting to be cracked like an egg."

"If he were a big softy then he wouldn't be Groudon's second in command," Empoleon said almost with contempt.

"Hmm, but just knowing he has a gentle nature means that the brat has it all in the bag," Toxicroak said walking down the steps with a slight chuckle. "No point in sticking around until my match so, have fun kiddies."

"More importantly, what do we know about the kid?" I asked Empoleon who shrugged her shoulders.

"I could tell you," a young voice said from below us. I tilted my head downward to find the Dewott from the prelims looking up at us standing at least a foot lower. "Riolu and I are best friends," she said hopping onto the rail. "He's the youngest in his family, and being the only son among them all his dad is more expectant of him. Before I evolved we met and we've been sparring partners ever since, and we both decided to this whole thing coming to this other world."

"Are you sure you guys are just friends, and not something more?" Cassandra asked slyly.

"…I don't know what else we would be," Dewott answered as Cassandra's eyes looked at her with a sarcastic expression.

* * *

><p>"A-nd, BEGIN!" Alice said banging on the gong again.<p>

Riolu made the first move speeding towards Torterra. After coming within five feet of Torterra Riolu jumped up and made a chopping motion straight down on Torterra. Looking up at the small body making the attack Torterra simply walked out of the way as Riolu impacted with the ground make a small hole in the stadium with the attack.

"Brick Break," Torterra started recognizing the attack. "A fighting attack designed for the use of breaking through barriers while still being able to deliver a powerful blow to the opponent."

Riolu gritted his teeth and charged Torterra once more thrusting his palm towards him. Riolu impacted with Torterra who kept his eyes closed as he breathed out seemingly absorbing the impact in his body. Riolu retreated back to the other side of the stage and watched as Torterra stretched out his muscles and a crack could be heard from his neck.

"My turn," he said as a light lit up from the tree design on his jacket. "But I will commend your surprisingly strong Force Palm. Seed Bomb!" he shouted as nine dark green orbs surrounded him.

Stomping his foot on the ground the nine orbs launched from the spot and towards Riolu who put his hands up in defense. As the nine spheres came within inches Riolu his eyes glowed white as he moved out of the way and when necessary he pushed it back with his bare palm. When the smoke cleared from the explosions the Seed Bomb produced Riolu charged Torterra with his eyes still glowing. Torterra launched more Seed Bombs one after the other which proved useless in stopping or stalling Riolu who jumped up and around, blocked, and ducked under all the bombs.

"How is he doing that?" Cassandra asked noticing the more refined movements Riolu was displaying.

"It's Detect, like last time," I explained. "Seeing Riolu like this, however, I think he has a better chance at this. As much of a fighter he is, he is more of a tactician than anything. That Force Palm attack wasn't used for an actual attack, but a standard."

"How do you mean?" Empoleon asked.

"At the preliminaries Riolu used the same move on a man nearly twice Torterra's weight in all muscle, and it was able to launch him out of the ring," I explained. "He hit Torterra with the same attack, but with half of the force he did in the prelims. He is going to use that as the standard as what he has attack more forcefully than. Torterra acknowledged that it was a strong attack nonetheless which means if more pressure were to be used," I said as our eyes were focused again on the battlefield.

Riolu had managed to make it out of the barrage of Seed Bomb and now was charging Torterra with his palm being thrust at him. Upon impact Torterra showed no signs of pain.

"Was that you're best shot?" Torterra asked as Riolu looked up with a wide smile.

"No," he started slamming his left palm against Torterra pushing him across the stage to the edge of it. "_That_ was."

"I underestimated you," Torterra said as he was about to stand up but found he couldn't move his left leg. "What the heck?"

"Force Palm," I said reciting the attack's abilities from memory. "A fighting attack that has a 30% chance of forcing the opponent in a state of paralysis. While the paralysis is not an absolute condition it does give the chance of a Pokémon to be numbed in their body disallowing them to use anything."

"Don't think this'll stop me," Torterra as another light shined behind him over the pyramid design. "Earthquake!" he shouted stomping his foot on the ground making a large fissure open in the center of the stage as a large tremor shook the area around all of them.

"Earthquake is a move that access 100% of a Pokémon physical power and attacks from all angles," I explained gripping onto a side rail through the shaking. "In a team battle it'll even attack a partner's Pokémon if the proper precautions aren't tended to."

The shaking caused debris from the stage to lift up and launch at Riolu who tried his best to dodge it using Detect again. After the tremor ended Riolu sighed out of relief when he cringed from pain. He fell onto his stomach as he looked behind him to find Torterra with his hand outstretched and the tree design on his jacket lit up again.

"It may deplete my Special attack power, but a Leaf Storm is well worth it," Torterra said calmly as the leaves in his hand's vicinity blew away in the wind. "I said I didn't want to hurt you, but you've really left me no choice. You've earned my respect as a fighter."

"I don't think I have," Riolu said standing up with nearly no trouble at all as Torterra looked at him confused as his leg allowed him to move. "If I have gained your respect as a fighter then why have you not fought me seriously?"

"What does that mean?" Torterra asked.

"My father always taught me if I'm fighting a Pokémon in their final form, and you can still stand up after fighting for five minutes, then I've become the man I hope I'll be, or their going easy on you because they think you can't take it," Riolu explained in more detail. "If you really respect me then show it in its entirety. And you call the follower of Groudon? Don't make me laugh!" he shouted as Torterra's eyes narrowed on him.

"That's bad," Empoleon said covering her eyes. "Torterra rarely loses his temper, but when he does it's about his own power, and if it has to do with disrespecting Groudon, or his choices."

"But that's odd," Dewott said holding her chin. "That's not one of his father's lessons."

"What do you mean by that?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, no matter how high his expectations of him are Riolu's father has never done anything without giving Riolu a reason for doing it and giving a lesson to along with it," Dewott answered. "But never has Riolu's father ever given him a lesson about worrying about a fight with a final form Pokémon. In fact, he's said he can't fight a Pokémon like that until he learns the move Reversal. His dad said that it would be his only way to beat one. And Riolu would never do anything to disrespect his father."

"People can change after a while," Kimiko said.

"Maybe, but Riolu never seemed to be the type," Dewott still deep in thought said.

"I want you to hit me with your strongest attack, or are you afraid that you'll be exposed as a fraud?" Riolu said holding his arms out.

"Just, remember, you asked for it," Torterra said quietly and with a hint of remorse for what he was going to do. He placed both of his hands together and closed his eyes as both symbols on his back lit up.

"That jacket must be his Enabler," I said noticing it shining again. "Every time he uses a move of his two elements the corresponding elemental symbol lights up allowing him the STAB, or the Same Type Attack Bonus, when using the attack.'

"Same Type Attack Bonus?" Kimiko asked.

"Pokémon who use an attack that is the same as one of their elements get a times 1.5 bonus to their power levels," I explained. "So think of it this way, whenever a Torterra uses Earthquake the STAB kicks in and raises the power of it from 100 to 150. Or, an even more powerful example is the Leaf Storm he used earlier. Leaf Storm is a grass type attack that has a base power level of 140, but multiplied by 1.5 it becomes an attack with a base power of 210. But if Torterra is Groudon's emissary he has an attack that, with the STAB, can access 215% of his power."

"Come on, and hit me!" Riolu shouted as Torterra nodded separating his hands as a beam of pure energy still connected them.

"Frenzy Plant!" Torterra shouted slamming his hands on the ground.

For several seconds nothing happened and the audience looked around for his so called attack. All of sudden a small tremor was felt by the audience as a barrage of spiked vines shot from the ground and combined into a large spiral of thorny vines that swung around and hit Riolu pounding him into the ground.

"Danny!" Dewott shouted out of concern. "You idiot!" she shouted as a tear came from her eye.

"I warned you that would happen," Torterra said walking back to the stands.

"Yeah, you did," a voice from the wreckage said as the vines receded to nothing. "I guess I brought that on myself," Riolu said walking from the wreckage still conscious.

"But, how?" Torterra asked as something fell from Riolu's person. The band that was wrapped around his head had come off and was still glowing as it fell to the ground. Torterra looked at it, and chuckled and burst into laughter.

"Focus Band?" I questioned as I looked at the band with its odd design on it. "An item that gives a 10% chance of surviving any attack with one hit point left."

"You were willing to give up everything on a gamble like that?" Torterra asked already knowing that answer. "Then, it's your turn to get me," he said holding out his arms like Riolu had done previously.

"Just know what you're getting yourself into," Riolu said running towards Torterra. Riolu ducked under Torterra and grabbed onto his legs flipping him over into the air. "Reversal!" Riolu shouted as he grabbed Torterra while in mid-air and flipped him onto his back.

Torterra landed on his back and made a loud crash onto the stage as he lifted his hand up and shouted out, "I have been defeated, the winner is Danny!"

Alice nodded and rang the gong as the crowd shouted with cheers for Danny as he helped Torterra to his feet and the two walked back to the infirmary together.

* * *

><p>"Why was that attack so powerful?" Cassandra asked.<p>

"Reversal is a tricky move to master, but it works like this; depending on how much damage you've taken it raises its base power. At one bit of damage left Reversal reaches its peak at 200 base power, but with Riolu's STAB it quickly becomes 250," I explained. "There wasn't any way for Torterra to come out of it unscathed."

"It just goes to show you how many different ways this tournament can go," a voice said from behind me. I turned around to find Gallade in the back with his arms folded and leaning against the wall. "Riolu had won the second he made that request. With the Focus Band on him there was no way he could lose."

"There was only a ten percent chance of it working though," Kirlia said from beside him with a know-it-all voice taunting Gallade.

"I guess, it's a fighting Pokémon thing," Gallade said. "You just trust that it all works and never worry about it."

"You mean like the time you almost got bit by a rabid Mightyena, Houndoom, and Growlithe all in the same day?" Kirlia asked taunting him again.

"I think it would've been better it Gallade never came back to visit his sister," I whispered to Cassandra who nodded in agreement seeing the two bicker amongst themselves.

* * *

><p>"Let's start the next battle now!" Alice shouted into the microphone as he all covered our ears from the close proximity. "Now from the beautiful country of Germany please give a warm welcome to Gespenst!"<p>

"_Gengar,"_ I thought as he came out onto the stage hidden under his hoodie except for his eyes and smile. _"And here I thought that it would be years before I could see you again, old friend."_

"And now, someone who needs no introduction, but we'll give him one, from Sussex England and my personal guardian, please welcome Johan!" Alice shouted as she also cheered for, what one would expect, her best friend.

Johan walked out to the stadium with many of the girls drooling over him for his not wearing a shirt under his jacket. Looking back at Alice I saw her cheeks puffed up like a Jigglypuff when it gets angry.

"Johan, you idiot, what do you think letting those girls drool over you!" she shouted to him through the microphone which I felt, given the base volume of her voice, was unnecessary.

"My apologies miss," Johan said bowing in Alice's direction. "But this is much more comfortable to fight in."

"Whatever," she said folding her arms and looking away. "Gespenst! Try to knock some sense into him. Now, FIGHT!"

Gengar chuckled as he disappeared from view at the declaration of the beginning leaving Typhlosion simply shifting his eyes left and right trying to find him.

* * *

><p>"Against Gengar, Typhlosion is gonna need more than raw power and skill," I said as Cassandra looked my direction with a confused look as did Kimiko. "In the Pokémon world ghost types are all part of a grand unified alliance. Meaning that all ghost types are comrades. We know all the ghost types in the world, and by extension we get to spend time with the other ghost types. Before I was placed under that curse I was taken to the Lavender Town Tower as an emissary for Mt. Pyre mostly because I was stupid enough to volunteer. That Gengar is the second in command to the elder and everything I ever wanted to bring to the elder's attention went through that Gengar. He's more of a creeper than anything; he mostly delighted in making younger people scream in terror than he did Pokémon."<p>

"So what did you mean when you said it would take more than power and skill to beat Gengar?" Kimiko asked.

"It's simple," I said. "Gengar, like all ghost type Pokémon, can make himself invisible from view and completely erase any feelings of his presence."

"So, he's there, but we can't tell like we would if he were standing in front of us?" Cassandra.

"Exactly," I commended. "But, knowing that Gengar, he'd rather have fun with this rather than fight seriously."

* * *

><p>Typhlosion was still looking from all angle to find Gengar when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around Typhlosion found nothing behind him, but swung his arm to make sure. After feeling nothing he looked all around him again and then stopped in the view of the sun. Typhlosion looked at the sun for several seconds and widened his eyes as he lifted his head and thrust it forward releasing a continuous stream of fire that flowered out after hitting an invisible object.<p>

Gengar fell out of the sky on his feet with his hood still on as he came back into visibility. He was still chuckling as he held out his hand and tightened his grip as a Shadow Ball appeared in it. Instead of throwing it at Typhlosion Gengar instead dropped it on the ground causing a large of wood to be blasted towards Typhlosion.

"This won't help you much," Typhlosion said blasting away at the wood parts with a Flamethrower attack.

"But this might," Gengar said with a small whisper of a voice with a light German accent.

Looking through the smoke Typhlosion squinted his eyes through the smoke when something flew past him. Still unsure of what flew past Typhlosion crouched down by the spot where it had hit and saw through the smoke a large hole in the stage floor. Typhlosion's eyes widened his eyes as a barrage of Shadow Ball traveled through the smoke where about sixty percent of them impacted with him launching him out of the smoke.

"Too easy," Gengar said appearing behind him and tightening the grip in his hand on a gathering dark purple energy.

Typhlosion turned his head where he was blasted by a Dark Pulse attack that shot out of Gengar's hand and blasted him back into the receding smoke. After the smoke from the original blast receded Typhlosion rose to his feet as he saw that Gengar was gone again.

"You forget things too quickly, Gespenst," Typhlosion said as Gengar silently appeared behind him with a Dark Pulse. "There's more than one way to make yourself unseen," he said disappearing just as Gengar brought the Dark Pulse attack down on him. "And unless you can analyze a situation you will always be a loser," he said reappearing behind him as a trail of smoke was shown around the perimeter of the stage.

"What the heck!" Cassandra asked.

"It's called Extremespeed," I answered. "A move that is never second in speed. But, I never thought that Typhlosion could learn."

"It's an effect of this world's atmosphere," I heard a voice next to me from Cofagrigus. "Under normal circumstances I wouldn't be able to learn Dark Pulse yet I used it to defeat you. This world's atmosphere has changed our abilities to learn different moves."

Down on the battlefield we watched Typhlosion dodge with ease all of Gengar's moves. After reaching the edge of the battlefield Typhlosion looked behind him to see the water surrounding the stage and then at Gengar.

"End of the road," Gengar said holding a Shadow Ball in both hands.

"I think differently," Typhlosion said as he charged straight at Gengar with Extremespeed.

"What are you thinking? That won't do anything for you!" Gengar said as he threw both of the Shadow Balls at Typhlosion who sped right by them and continued to Gengar.

Impacting with Gengar Typhlosion passed right through him and ended up behind him and blasted a Flamethrower at him. The flamethrower, too quick to dodge, blasted Gengar in the back making him fall over on his face as he just stayed motionless for several seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter and turning around while still sitting down.

"Well, that was fun," Gengar said standing up and brushing his sweatshirt as his hood fell off showing a perfectly normal face with two red eyes that were made more visible in this instance and short spiked purple hair. "But, I think it's time for my win," he said running up to Typhlosion and staring into his eyes as he eyes began to glow.

Typhlosion stared into them for only a few seconds when he fell over like a ton of bricks asleep onto his back. The audience wondered if Gengar had won when he held out his hands to quiet the crowd.

"I have not won this battle…yet," he said gripping onto Typhlosion's head as both of them were covered in a dark colored pink aura and Typhlosion began to cringe in the tightening grip.

* * *

><p>"What's he doing to him?" Kimiko asked.<p>

"A very dangerous move that only a few Pokémon can use efficiently," I began. "Dream Eater. It takes the subconscious thoughts of the victim and turns it into energy that the user feeds off of to heal themselves. In many cases it has been shown to be used by government organization to erase memories of spies and traitors to their cause."

"But if Typhlosion loses his memory, does that mean he'll forget about Alice too?" Cassandra asked.

"I won't lie to you," I said. "Those memories will be the first to go if that is indeed the case of what will happen."

"How do we stop it?" Kimiko asked.

"The only way to end a Dream Eater is to break Typhlosion from his sleep," I explained. "But from here that's impossible without directly interfering with the match. If someone were to talk to him through the microphone then it would be possible."

All three looked at Alice who was watching the scene while shaking from fear as she could hear Typhlosion cringing from the pain. Alice gritted her teeth as I walked up to her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"You know what he is now, don't you?" I asked as she nodded.

"Johan is not from this world, right?" she asked as I nodded. "He's not my brother who died a long time ago, and he has his own little sibling back home, doesn't he? I could always hear what you guys were saying about these things called Pokémon."

"To tell the truth, Alice, you're a lucky girl," I said sitting down making her a few inches taller than me. "Johan came here for one reason. His brother told him to."

"What?" she asked as tears began to fall from her face.

"Cyndaquil, his brother, was a wild child and he wanted to take care of himself and therefore he almost ordered Typhlosion to leave," I explained. "Typhlosion stays with you for that reason; he misses his brother, and he knows you miss your brother."

"Is that you call Johan in your world, Typhlosion?" she asked as I nodded. "Why did he never tell me anything?"

"Typhlosion only wanted to keep you safe, but at this rate he might forget about all of this," I said as she snapped her head back in Typhlosion's direction.

"What?" she asked.

"If this keeps up Typhlosion will forget everything, meeting you, protecting you, and even as far as forgetting you _and_ his brother," I said walking away. "If you want to help say the words on that piece of paper as loud as you can. It always seems that the humans in this world are the ones who can help out the most."

* * *

><p>Alice watched me and then back at Typhlosion who was still cringing in his sleep as Gengar continued his attack. She picked up the microphone and took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could.<p>

"JOHAN, IF YOU FORGET ABOUT ME, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" she said almost forcing the words out of her mouth.

Gengar looked back at the little girl and smiled as he always did when he felt a tightening grip on his arm. Typhlosion looked at Alice from behind Gengar and smiled as he gave her a thumbs-up. He turned his gaze back to Gengar as he kicked him aside and made another fighting stance.

"Why did those words wake him up?" Cassandra asked.

"That's exactly what his brother said to him on the day we were going to leave," I explained. "Typhlosion is only afraid of two things; people holding grudges against him forever, and forgetting about his friends and family."

"Let's kick this match into high gear," Typhlosion said holding a shining yellow orb and throwing it into the air. After it reached the sky the entire stage was illuminated in a harsh sunlight that Gengar, Cofagrigus, and I tried to hide from. "There are many practical for Sunny Day; the first is the repulsion that ghost types feel from, the next is the powerful increase that all fire types gain from it, and finally is this," he said holding a shining orb in two hands jumping directly into the sun's path and then throwing it downward as it began a widespread beam that battered Gengar. "The elimination of the wait for the attack Solar Beam."

As the smoke cleared Gengar walked out of it clapping while bruised and scratched. He shook his head in amazement as he fell to the ground holding a white flag that I wasn't sure where he got that from. After declared the winner Typhlosion helped Gengar up and the two shook hands.

"It looks like my plan worked to perfection," Gengar said.

"What?"

"I wanted to introduce the brat to our world, but your overprotective nature wouldn't allow it," Gengar said as a vein popped in Typhlosion.

"She knows?" he asked began to get irritated.

"Probably," Gengar said pulling his hood back. "I wouldn't worry about it. It did save your memories."

"You mean you were actually trying to?" Typhlosion asked beginning to get nervous.

Gengar looked at him with a slight chuckle as he waved goodbye and disappeared from view.

* * *

><p>"From now on you're to wear your t-shirt while you're fighting, understand me, Johan?" Alice asked as she began ranting on him for not wearing a shirt and making all the girls crazy for him.<p>

"Yes, miss," he said annoyed. "Man, it's like you don't trust me."

"Well, let's look into that coincidence," I said leaning against the wall. "Just be glad you can remember her."

"You…" Typhlosion said as his voice began to lower and turn into a whisper. "You told her the truth, didn't you?"

"I told her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," I said holding up my right hand. "Why do you have a crazed look on your face? Why are you breathing small flames? Wait! Stay away! Run!" I shouted running away as Typhlosion chased me breathing flames at me all the while.

* * *

><p>Reaching it back to the stands I panted form my exercise as I saw the next two groups walking down to the waiting room. The Sneasel from the prelims, Cofagrigus, Pikachu, and Umbreon all walked down the stairs as I watched the other groups up here on the competitor stands and still didn't see Tori or Toxicroak back since he left earlier.<p>

"_Why did Toxicroak leave, and not come back? This tournament is hiding more secrets than I would like, and it's causing more distress than I would have expected. But, I'll stick it out to the end until I find the rogue. I'm waiting for you."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Riolu (Danny) played by LunaHozuki666

Torterra (Forrest) played by Comicfan616

Empoleon (Mizu) played by Timberstar

Dewott (Alex) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Gallade (Tsubasa) played by Nightall00

Hanna (Kirlia) played by LunaHozuki666

Gengar (Gespenst) played by Overlord Kog

Typhlosion (Johan) played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Cofagrigus (Defectus) played by Umbrafox

* * *

><p>Chapter nineteen complete. Sorry this one isn't as long as some of my other ones so there wasn't as much room for character development. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next battles are Sneasel against Cofagrigus, and Pikachu against Umbreon. Let me know who you think will win these two.<p>

Chapter twenty preview: The battles against the group of Pokémon are under way, but Duskull's mind is wandering over to the three Pokémon he feels are the best candidates to be the rogue Pokémon. Can he figure it out before the tournament has ended? Next time: Fighting with Humans, Battles 5 and 6.


	21. Fighting with Humans, Battles 5 and 6

Here's chapter twenty of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. This is going to be part three of my tournament section of the Japan arc. I apologize to those of you that are losing your OCs in the tournament, but with every winner there has to be at least one person who doesn't win. To be honest, some of the Pokémon are necessary for the tournament, others aren't. Have fun!

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 20: Fighting with Humans, Battles 5 and 6<p>

As the repairs on the stage were being completed I left the stands to find Toxicroak and Tori. I had no idea as to where Tori went since he hadn't been there to start with, but at least I knew Toxicroak had intentions of showing. I didn't have to go far from the stands before I looked back at section reserved for competitors to find a figure with a ponytail and walking on a cane already going back up. I knew that if this was the time to talk to him it would have to be now.

"Hemlock!" I shouted across the line of patrons as he turned around with angered eyes and simply continued to walk up the stairs.

I managed to catch up to him as he never seemed too interested in what I had to say. Once he looked by direction and then as I began to slow down he sped up the stairs skipping steps in between.

"Only people with something to hide run away!" I said as he stopped and turned around.

"Hmm, then I guess I have something to hide," he said in a hoarse monotone whisper turning back around and walking up the steps.

* * *

><p>I finished walking up the steps and saw Toxicroak leaning against the wood frame as Alice and Typhlosion approached the gong both placing in earplugs. Alice rubbed her hands together and gripped the mallet swinging around in a half circle and striking the gong loud enough for people <em>outside<em> the area to hear. As the group of fighters returned to their feet Alice picked up the microphone and tapped it a few times creating a large amount of feedback reducing all of us to our knees in pain.

"Cut it out already!" I shouted as Alice cleared her throat as though I wasn't there.

"Alright, now that repairs are finished let's start the next match!" she shouted with the crowd agreeing with her. "Next round debuts this young man, a drifter by all means, and an expert fighter please welcome Andy!"

"_I thought Sneasel was a girl,"_ I said in my head as Sneasel walked out of the waiting area with a depressed look in her eyes.

She was a short girl, yes she's a girl, with messy black hair, a bandage over her forehead, and it seemed like a case of heterochromia with one of her eyes as a pink color and the other a striking silver color wearing a black long-sleeved dress that stopped an inch above the knees, a red sash tied around her waist with three ribbons sticking out of it, black leggings, and black flats with silver tips. As always the gold pendant drew my eyes almost instantly.

"For the record, I am a girl," she said to Alice as she slapped her face with her palm.

"Sorry about that!" Alice shouted as Sneasel smiled and bowed slightly. "And her challenger, from the sunny shores of Sydney, Australia please welcome Defectus!" she announced as my eyes instantly snapped in the opposite direction while Cofagrigus walked through the door and looked in my direction.

He was wearing the same outfit he wore when he defeated me in Sydney consisting of a black jacket with yellow cuffs with the collar almost reaching his ears and a pair of black slacks. I looked back and forth at both of the competitors and found myself at a loss for a reasoning way out of it.

"Cofagrigus is a Pokémon who can freely control his cursed state, but we have no idea as to how Sneasel fights, nor can we be sure that Cofagrigus has complete control of his curse if another overload of power were to enter this area," I said as Cassandra smacked my head.

"Stop being such a worry wart," she said as I rubbed the spot where she hit me.

"Besides, Cofagrigus isn't the only one who can be considered a freak," someone said on the other side of me who turned out to be Glaceon. "Sneasel's village was under my kingdom's rule until they revolted a few months before we came here. Her silver eye is an energy vampire if anything. It saps her energy pretty much leaving her open to any attack. After she got it she hated herself and wanted to just disappear had it not been for something happened that even I couldn't tell you about."

"And, BEGIN!" Alice shouted ringing the gong as both fighters charged towards each other as quickly as the gong was hit.

The two collided in the middle and passed right by each other landing in the place the opposite started from. They turned to each other silently as the audience's sound was choked and they could feel the pressure between the two of them. Cofagrigus held his hand out in front of him and closed his eyes and opened them in an instant shooting two Shadow Balls from his hands as they made weaving movements towards her. Sneasel placed both her hands together as her eye and pendant both began to glow in a bright light. Behind her the water surrounding the stage instantly shot upwards in a tidal wave that crashed down splitting around her and neutralizing the Shadow Ball attacks. The wave crashed against Cofagrigus who put his hands up in defense only to be blasted out of the ring and into the wooden frame of the stands.

"How can a Sneasel know a Surf attack?" I asked.

"Technical and Hidden Machines can be used like that," Glaceon said. "After she was driven out of her village Sneasel made herself stronger by stealing the machines and used them to power herself up since the eye can only take away from her natural attacks. The most likely scenario is that Sneasel can't use any of her original attacks at all, and now has to rely on these machines to teach her new moves all over again."

The crowd was still silent as Cofagrigus had yet to return from the wreckage. Sneasel squinted her eyes and then snapped them open as she was pushed off the edge of the stage and into the water.

"It's not something that makes me proud," Cofagrigus said as he appeared from a trail that was still visible across the water. "Having to rely on such a disgusting ideal of this curse."

I looked down at Cofagrigus as his red eye was now a transparent color and his arm was now lit up like a full candelabra.

"Sneasel has little chance of defeating Cofagrigus now," I said slumping over in my spot.

"How do you know that?" Glaceon asked.

"Because Cofagrigus' curse is what's known as complete," I responded. "There are varying levels of a curse, but it can be broken down in three levels; first, is the condition of having no control over it like me; second, is the condition of having some control but it can still take you over like Zoroark; and finally, is the condition of being able to call upon it at will and use it as the ultimate amplifier like Cofagrigus."

"Can anyone get to that level?" Cassandra asked.

"It's hard, but there are two ways," I explained. "Well, the only way to control your curse is to evolve or have a massive level gain. Cofagrigus is a Pokémon that had his curse in his original form and evolved to control his curse."

"Then what about Zoroark?" Kimiko asked.

"Zoroark's condition is a strange one," I said. "But this is the only scenario that works; Zoroark was a Pokémon that used to be a trainer's, and after getting the Pokérus he began training to raise his initial stats. When about to evolve he was attacked with an attack called Curse known only to ghost Pokémon and then after he evolved he was unable to contain the power of the curse and now has semi-control over it. But the fact remains that without that same power Sneasel can't match Cofagrigus'."

"I am sorry for my actions," Cofagrigus said to the pool as he bowed thinking that that was the spot where Sneasel had landed.

"Don't be," Sneasel said from behind him with her silver eye and a spot on her forehead shining even more harshly behind the bandages. "You've gotten me to wake up. I've been tired all day watching those boring battles, but now it's time for the real fun."

"_She's cursed too?"_ I asked. _"If that eye is the direct result of a curse mark and if that bandage is covering an alteration to her human body then my suspicions are confirmed."_

The bandage, wet from the pool of the water, fell from Sneasel's head to reveal an ovular yellow stud on her forehead. Sneasel kept the same look on her face as she made a fighting stance that Cofagrigus copied and the two jumped towards the center of the battlefield when they collided making a small explosion in the center.

"_Sneasel isn't just cursed, but she has full control of it," _I thought to myself as the two began what looked more like a martial arts expo.

Cofagrigus swung her fist from behind as Sneasel simply ducked and turned around to kick his feet out from under him. Cofagrigus jumped to dodge and brought his foot down over Sneasel's head. Sneasel gripped onto his leg and flipped over it kicking him in the face from behind making him skid across the stage. Cofagrigus shot another Shadow Ball from his hand as Sneasel put her hands up like she was going to box punching the Shadow Ball and destroying it after about two seconds of contact with it. Cofagrigus then held out his hand and shot a Dark Pulse from it as Sneasel ducked under it and breathed out producing a Blizzard attack that froze Cofagrigus' feet.

"This is where it ends," Sneasel said jumping up and spinning around ready to kick him.

Cofagrigus quickly placed his hands together and as his eyes glowed Sneasel slowed down in speed as though time around them had slowed down. Breaking the ice with Shadow Balls Cofagrigus moved faster than before and kicked Sneasel across the side knocking her down onto the stage.

"Trick Room won't return the dimensions to normal for another five minutes, you have that long to figure something out while I'm faster than you," he said running at her with the Dark Pulse already beginning to form in his hand.

"I won't let you win this," Sneasel said as her pink colored eye glowed for a second and a small hint of a red membrane shown around Cofagrigus.

Sneasel held out her fist and focused for several seconds before shifting slowly to the right as Cofagrigus' attack was shot doing no damage to the stage. As Cofagrigus was still running towards her Sneasel thrust her fist back as it began to glow a snowy white color and pushed it forward towards Cofagrigus knocking him back as the dimensions returned to normal.

"That was," Cofagrigus began.

"Focus Punch," Sneasel finished.

"But, how could you have?" Cofagrigus asked trying to stand up.

"The only attack I can use from my original Moveset is a Foresight I inherited from my father," she explained as she touched her left silver eye. "This thing caused me more pain than any curse could ever."

"_That eye isn't the curse's mark?" _I asked looking down at her.

"This eye happened when something fell from the sky and struck me and felt as though it was slowly eating away at me," Sneasel explained as the memory seemed to be happening around us. "The object was a large rectangular plate with a silver color. Ever since, I was never welcomed because Pokémon saw me as cursed and too dangerous to be kept around."

Cofagrigus managed to sit up straight as he looked up at Sneasel waiting for her to finish.

"Soon it got so bad that I could no longer use any moves of my own and only one that my father had passed onto me," Sneasel said. "I wanted to disappear, it would be better off that way, I thought. I traveled to the coldest place in the entire Pokémon world, and thought that no one would ever dare try to find me. Unfortunately for my plan, I was wrong. Someone did find me. They took me and told me about what humans were planning to do with those machines and that they would teach me any move I wanted to learn. I blindly followed their soothing voice and stole four machines and used them on myself and became this monster."

"Cursed by machines?" Cofagrigus asked.

"No," Sneasel answered. "I was cursed by a ghost Pokémon who rules over Mt. Pyre in Hoenn. He was on his way to destroy any remnant of the humans' plan to use machines on Pokémon and he destroyed the factory and then he came after me. It didn't take him long to find me and place his curse on me. I am now the very thing that all Pokémon despise, a Pokémon used my humans for nothing they consider honorable. But I will show those Pokémon what I can do now because of their help. Those machines helped me contain what I have become."

"This is still a tournament so you have to fight your way to the top," Cofagrigus said preparing a Dark Pulse in his hand.

"This will be the last strike," she said removing the sash from her waist as it straightened and became hard as steel.

As both of them looked at each both Cofagrigus' arm and the stud on Sneasel's head shined brighter as the glow in their eye acted in a similar fashion. As Cofagrigus fired the Dark Pulse Sneasel charged straight into it holding the sash as a sword and slicing right through it.

"Iron Tail," I said watching Sneasel slice through the Dark Pulse.

"But Sneasel can't learn that on their own, right?" Glaceon asked.

"If that was a Plate of silver that is the only blessing that eye brought her," I said. "It gave her the ability to use a steel attack unimaginable for a Pokémon like her. As for the Pokémon who talked to her I have my own idea who she talked to her."

"But who cursed her, is it?" Cassandra asked.

My eyes narrowed and became even more angry as his large figure flashed in front of my eyes. Looking down I saw Sneasel jumping up over Cofagrigus and slashing the sash across his body as he fell back and smiled up at the sky as Sneasel was declared the winner. Cofagrigus stood up on his own and held out his hand for Sneasel who took and shook it.

"_Dusknoir,"_ I thought. _"Once again I have found your influence in the hatred in the hearts of Pokémon and I will stop you from doing it again when I come back. Even you cannot stand up to me when I return. As for now, this match has opened my eyes to ways to contain our curses. You're one step closer to your ultimate downfall."_

* * *

><p>"Hey, where's Kimiko?" Cassandra asked.<p>

"She said that she would try to find Tori since it won't be long before his match," I answered as she looked around.

"If they're such good friends why doesn't she crush on him instead of you?" Cassandra asked with her cheeks puffed out as I chuckled nervously.

"Maybe because I saved her from becoming a greasy spot on the Shinkansen?" I suggested as Cassandra shook her head.

"To be honest, her whole family's kinda weird," she said.

"Well now that's a little uncalled for, we've only met one other of her family," I said. "And besides, I kinda like Satoshi. Sounds like a good anime character name."

"Yeah, that'll be the day," Cassandra said as Kimiko came running up the stairs trying to catch her breath with someone running behind her.

"Tori?" I asked as the person stood up above all of us. "Satoshi?" I asked in amazement as Cassandra slapped her own forehead.

"Itzal, my main detective, how'd it go with the Phantom Thief S yesterday?" he asked wrapping his arm around my neck and giving me a noogie. "By the way, I heard you came up with this idea. Is that right?"

"Yeah," I said almost nervously.

"All right, now you have to become my son-in-law!" he shouted louder than the gong that was bound to sound. "I don't even care if you're a ghost, you'll still make this old man proud."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I said you'll make this old man proud," he said.

"Before that."

"Something about a son-in-law."

"In the middle," I said beginning to get annoyed.

"Oh! You mean the ghost thing," he said with a large smile on his face. "Now that I say it out loud I don't think I was supposed to talk about it, right, Kimiko?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "When did you tell him?" I asked turning my attention to Kimiko.

"Back in Okinawa," Kimiko answered as both Cassandra and I fell over.

"What happened to not telling anyone?" I asked cracking my knuckles.

"It slipped my mind, and he was bound to figure it out eventually," Kimiko said in defense as I calmed down not wanting to go off the deep end.

"Fine," I said angrily. "But I'm watching you two."

"How could you do that?" Cassandra asked as I turned to face her.

"Beg pardon?" I asked as she looked at me with a confused look. "Didn't you tell something the day after you found out as well? Sure, it was another Pokémon, but that's beside the point."

* * *

><p>Before we could continue the gong rang out of surprise and signaled the start of the next battle. Alice looked at us with a smug look as I was imaging the many things I could do to her to make her death more worthwhile.<p>

"We now have five people going on to the next round, let's find out who number six is. From Sydney, Australia please welcome entertainer extraordinaire Pepe!" she announced as Pikachu ran out into the stage with a cheerful smile.

"Is she?" Satoshi asked.

"Yes, all but one person is a Pokémon in this tournament," I said. "But what still can't shake me is the fact that no one in the audience has questioned this tournament's authenticity. Kimiko, you said that this place was used to supernatural power, what did that mean besides what you already told us."

"Well, according to this school's history, about ten years ago at the start of the new year there was this big event and it was between this big group of wizards against these alien beings," Kimiko explained. "After the fight was over they left a huge amount of supernatural energy to stew here."

"Uh-huh," I said not fully convinced. "Well, there's always another explanation. I hope, I hope, I hope."

Pikachu ran up the stage cheerfully and even did a few poses for the audience. To be honest, I never had seen Pikachu in her actual attire for her Pokémon form, and I'll admit I found it slightly bland. She wore a long sleeved yellow shirt, brown shorts, and yellow slip-on shoes.

"_I expected something more elaborate, but to each their own."_

"And now, from England, land of my own home please welcome Briana!" Alice announced as Umbreon walked through the gate onto the stage.

Briana walked out paying little attention to the audience and simply looked straight ahead with a smile on her face as she approached the stage to meet Pikachu. She was wearing a pair of a baggy black jeans, a black shirt under a yellow jacket, and a pair of black street shoes.

"So, Itzal, what you got on these two?" Satoshi asked.

"Well, Pepe is an electric type that specializes on speed and evasive strategy to attack little by little while Briana a dark type Pokémon specializes on her own speed and also her defensive capabilities so it could really go either way," I explained as he seemed to be able to keep up with. "You know more about us than you're letting on, don't you?"

"After Kimiko told me about you guys I decided to do more research so I found an old encyclopedia on these creatures and I tried to get everything down to memory," Satoshi admitted as the gong was rung once more and the two began circling the stage at high speed to the point where it became near impossible to discern one from the other.

Both fighters still had smiles on their faces as they both stopped in the place they both began from and showed no sign of fatigue. Pikachu flipped her hair from her cheeks and made another running stance while Umbreon traced her earrings' loop. Pikachu ran towards Umbreon as her cheeks began to produce electricity and Umbreon put up a defensive stance. Pikachu flipped forward into the air and shot a large blast of lightning generating form her cheeks that soon covered her whole body. Umbreon took the entirety of the blow and stayed motionless after the blast subsided. Umbreon looked up and seemed to be fine in every way.

"Well, that was good," she said as she charged Pikachu and hit her without so much as a flicker of movement from Pikachu. "You finally got that crick out of my back."

"Don't try and mock me," Pikachu said charging Umbreon with a match speed ramming into her just as fast.

"How're they so fast?" Kimiko asked.

"They're both using Quick Attack," I said. "Quick Attack is a common attack with several versions of itself and they all have the same effect. It allows the Pokémon to attack first no questions asked, even if that means they have some sort of status ailment that would reduce their speed."

"Meaning if they both use it at once?" Cassandra.

"Then it pretty much becomes dead heat," I said. "The faster Pokémon by their stats is still faster than the other Pokémon. But between these two who knows. Umbreon has a calculate level of 29 or within the 30th percentile range. Pikachu is probably close to, I'd say…" I explained as I was at a loss for Pikachu's level range.

"When I met her she was at level eighteen," I heard voice say behind me.

"Geez! How'd you get out of the infirmary so fast, Cofagrigus?" I asked as he was crouching down in between me and Satoshi.

"Don't ask, anyway Pikachu, by now, should be closer to level 30 given she has access to Thunderbolt now," he explained. "But that still can't tell us anything about who's faster."

"No, but it can give us a rough estimate," I said. "Pikachu has a base speed power of 90 while Umbreon has 65. If they have the same level range then Pikachu, logically should be faster, but that's just using basic logic."

Back on the field the battle became more of a contest of speed and endurance than an actual fight as both Pokémon tried to race each other only using Quick Attack. As the two Pokémon collided between movements the audience could barely make out the people within the movements as they seemed to rebound off of each other between hits. The two landed on the stage and looked at each other silently as they both rushed to the center. Before reaching the center of the stage the two jumped up and collided with Pikachu releasing a large blast of lightning.

Umbreon fell to the ground as Pikachu dove down. Umbreon placed both of her hands on her earrings as a bright yellow light shot at Pikachu that circled around her head and seemed to strike her as it disappeared. Pikachu flipped in her dive and hit the ground on her feet with both her arms raised as though she were in a gymnastics contest.

"This could go either way right now," Cofagrigus said looking at Pikachu's behavior.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Umbreon just attacked her with a Confuse Ray," Cofagrigus explained. "Pikachu has two lives, one is her Pokémon/human life, and the other is her performer life. When confused Pikachu has a habit of letting one side take over. She might've completely forgotten the match, but her sanity has stayed intact, and so has her awareness."

Umbreon charged Pikachu with Quick Attack as Pikachu flipped over and landed on her feet still oblivious to her surroundings and simply acting on instinct. Pikachu made several bows to the audience on the premise they were there to watch her perform which wasn't helped with the thunderous applause the audience awarded her with.

"Of all the hardship Pikachu has had in her life, she sure is good at hiding her emotions," Cofagrigus said looking at the large smile on her face.

"Hardship?" Kimiko asked.

"Pikachu's parents both died after a flood and forest fire," I explained. "As the eldest among her brothers which included a Pichu and Raichu, she felt it was her responsibility to keep their spirits up. She's worn a mask for nearly seven years that says, 'Nothing's wrong, I can handle it.' When in reality she hasn't had the chance to grieve once for her parents' passing."

Umbreon continued an onslaught of Quick Attack on the agile Pikachu who kept her eyes closed for the majority of the attacks until she opened her eyes during a flip to find Umbreon charging towards her. Almost panicking Pikachu twirled in the air as Umbreon passed right by her. Both landed on their feet. Pikachu then turned to face Umbreon with angered eyes as she was stuck in her fantasy world.

"What're you doing? I was performing," she said like a spoiled child. For some reason, I thought of Alice.

"Because this is a match," Umbreon said. "So let's see who's better," she said speeding towards Pikachu.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Pikachu said speeding towards Umbreon as the two began a tackling battle.

As one of the Pokémon would tackle the other she would dodge it and go into her own tackle attack that continued in this pattern for a few minutes when both stopped in the middle of the stage and stared at each other even though Pikachu was at least a foot shorter than Umbreon.

"Why don't let it go?" Umbreon asked.

"What are you talking about?" Pikachu asked.

"You're grief for what happened to your family," Umbreon said.

"It doesn't bother me as much it did back then," Pikachu said looking away. "Besides, it was seven years, it's not their gone from my memories."

"You never got to cry for it," Umbreon said as Pikachu widened her eyes a she slowly got over her confusion. "You had to be strong for your brothers, and you do things for them to make only their lives better. I know, because that's why I did this for my sister. I joined the envoys to protect her. You joined the envoys to find ways to make your brothers smile."

"Even if I never got to cry for it," Pikachu started. "It's not that I didn't want to cry overreach one, it was more like I couldn't. I tried many nights to let myself be drowned in tears, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Because no matter who you were with, even if there wasn't anyone, you had to stay strong to keep that feeling of strength alive within you," Umbreon said patting her head. "That's what makes who stronger than most Pokémon. You're ability to put others first."

"Thanks, but I still have to defeat you," Pikachu said backing up several feet.

"Then I oblige this offer," Umbreon said backing up as well.

Both sped towards each other and just as she reached the center Pikachu jumped up and flipped once in the air to get behind Umbreon as two small water drops fell from her eyes. Pikachu turned around to face Umbreon's back as she charged her again but with small sparks around her body.

"Another tackle attack?" Satoshi asked.

"No, something much more dangerous," Cofagrigus said.

"In the Pokémon world there is a single move that is known only to the evolution family of Pikachu, it takes the power of a normal tackle attack and multiplies it by about 3. It can only be brought on if a mother Pikachu is holding an item called a Light Ball when the egg is produced. It wraps the user's body in electricity and charges at its opponent's body with a high enough speed to destroy boulders. The attack does leave the user with recoil damage totaling about one third of the damage it gave to its opponent. I just hope she knows what she's doing."

"So what's that attack called?" Cassandra asked.

"Volt Tackle," Cofagrigus said as Pikachu's body was now completely engulfed in electricity as it charged Umbreon who had just recently turned around.

Pikachu impacted with Umbreon from behind as both fell back in opposite directions as both Pokémon were recovering from the blast and both seemed unconscious. We waited for one of the two to stand up, and after a minute of waiting both Pikachu and Umbreon stood up and smiled at each other as there were still tears left in Pikachu's eyes. Both Pokémon fell back again and it was called a double knockout.

"The recoil damage was too great for her to handle," Cofagrigus said. "This means that Sneasel doesn't have to battle again until tomorrow."

"Some might consider it a blessing," I said as medics went on stage and carried the two to the infirmary.

"Will the next four fighters please make their way to the waiting room!" Alice said as four figures moved from the back to the stairs passing by me.

"_Sableye, Quilava, Ninetales, and Toxicroak,"_ I said naming them off. _"Sableye has to be the one to battle that monster of a Pokémon, but it might work out better than I thought. Quilava though, how can he win when he's not even allowed to use his fire. Guess we'll have to wait and see."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Toxicroak (Hemlock) played by The Helpless Romantic

Sneasel (Andy) played by Detonator Liberation (Recently Rabbid Madwoman)

Cofagrigus (Defectus) played by Umbrafox

Glaceon (Diamond Lunar Wind) played by sarah94306

Pikachu (Pepe) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Umbreon (Briana) played by Alicelouise'x

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty complete. Well, happy New Year to all of you in Fan fiction, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I just wanted to get this up before I go back to school tomorrow. Next time is Sableye v. Toxicroak, and then Ninetales v. Quilava. Your comments please, and if not that I'll accept a cash donation (JK).<p>

Chapter twenty-one preview: The battle between Toxicroak and Sableye is one of the most eye open battles Duskull will ever see so far in this tournament and then, how does one fight when his own element can't even be used by him. Well, we'll see how that works out for Quilava when he has to fight the centuries old Ninetales. Next time: Fighting with Humans; Battle 7 and 8.


	22. Fighting with Humans, Battles 7 and 8

Here's chapter twenty-one of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. This is going to be the last battle of the first block so the next chapter will be the beginning of the second block. Today is going to be interesting because two of the characters that are fighting against each other are from the same author, and the second battle is between ingenuity and experience.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 21: Fighting with Humans, Battles 7 and 8<p>

His voice echoed in my head in his hoarse monotone whisper. As he passed me on the way to the stairs I kept thinking about his words to me when I talked to him earlier.

"_Only people with something to hide run away!" I said as he stopped and turned around._

"_Hmm, then I guess I have something to hide," he said in a hoarse monotone whisper turning back around and walking up the steps._

"Toxicroak is a Pokémon with unrivaled physical strength among the poison types in the Pokémon world," I said aloud with Satoshi, Kimiko, and Cassandra all listening around me while Toxicroak was already halfway down the stairs. "They're known for a cruel personality, but can they be so violent as to be considered a villain in our own world?"

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked.

Before I answered I looked at all the Pokémon still in the stands waiting for their match or who had battled and were now enjoying watching the others battle. I sighed as I looked at all their eye expressions which showed their many personalities.

"In our world the natural personalities of another Pokémon vary from Pokémon to Pokémon, but the idea that a Pokémon could be considered a criminal for simply following his personality is hard to imagine," I said.

"But doesn't he have all the requisites?" Kimiko asked.

"Yes," I said. "But I'm just being skeptical. It's not like I'm saying that I agree with his actions, but, more or less, I could understand them if he were a slave to a more primal force in his brain. If anything, his battle with Sableye will shed some light on who he is. I just hope that Sableye can find out more than we can from up here."

"Speaking of which, what can you tell us about Sableye other than what we know already?" Cassandra asked. "You said that you knew almost every ghost Pokémon in the world; like that Gengar guy and you seemed to know a bit about Drifloon.

"Well, in all actuality, I couldn't tell you much more than what I've already told you guys about him," I answered as they all looked disappointed. "Sableye is from the farther reaches of Sinnoh called Mt. Coronet, that was out of my transfer range. Dusknoir also told me never to fraternize with the likes of a Pokémon like him. He said he's more cursed than any other Pokémon you can meet. When I asked why, he only said this; 'He simply knows too much for his own good,'" I said with Dusknoir's image passing in front of me. "I only wish that I had started rebelling long before that."

"Well, how do you know it's that Sableye?" Kimiko asked.

"Underneath his right eye there's a tattoo of a tear drop," I said looking away from the group. "Dusknoir told me that for any Pokémon that's worse than a curse mark."

"I guess that Toxicroak is a mystery as well," Satoshi noted. "Just adding a bit of speculation."

"Yeah, well, you'd win that bet," I said. "I never knew any Toxicroak, especially one as unnaturally violent as that, and I doubt there's anyone who knew him personally as well."

"What do you mean?" Kimiko asked.

"At the prelims Toxicroak continually beat his opponents with no remorse and nearly made it necessary to have one of them going into surgery had Tori not stepped in," I explained. "Tori, being the only human in this tournament, has no idea as to what Toxicroak was capable of. Because none of the other Pokémon knew him they couldn't appeal to his better nature, provided he even has one, Tori was the only one who figured that he was just a bully and someone that needed to be stopped before he really injured somebody."

* * *

><p>Before we could continue our conversation I looked up to find Alice preparing the gong. I placed my hands over my ears along with Kimiko and Cassandra while Satoshi looked at us all confused. As Alice struck the gong Satoshi was almost knocked over by sound as it rang in his ears even after the sound subsided.<p>

"Well, let's start up this next round, what d'ya say!" Alice asked into the microphone as the audience cheered. "Next is battle seven between these two powerful individuals. The first is from Japan, and one of our more charismatic competitors. The mysterious and charming Keeps!"

Sableye walked out in his long sleeved white shirt, purple vest, and black shoes falling slightly over a pair of buckled shoes as he made his way to the center stage. Upon reaching the stage he turned to both sides and gave a low bow as though in performance making me slap my face with my palm from embarrassment for all ghosts.

"I'll kill him," I said softly so nobody could hear.

"And, from parts unknown, a man as deadly as he looks please give a warm welcome to Hemlock!" Alice announced as the audience turned their heads with spiteful looks at the figure walking out of the waiting room and straight to the stage.

Instead of the warm welcome Alice requested Toxicroak was met with a chorus of booing. About halfway down from the main stage a spectator threw a soda can still full at Toxicroak. Before it hit him Toxicroak swung around and smashed the can with his cane. The liquid contents spilled over the side as Toxicroak continued to walk down the path to the center stage where he gave Sableye a confident smile. The audience fell silent and seemed choked by the tension rising between the two combatants.

"Too bad," he said in his monotone whisper while beating the cane against his hand. "Now, you're tournament experience will have to end here."

"We'll see about that," Sableye said folding his arms.

The gong was rung and Toxicroak was the first to move running towards Sableye and holding his cane up like a sword. Sableye put one of his feet behind his other to make a fighting stance and then as the cane swung towards him Sableye ducked under it _before_ Toxicroak swung it. While still in his crouched position Sableye looked up at Toxicroak who was still shocked by his speed. The tear drop tattoo under his right eye then lit up as Sableye held up his hands producing a Shadow Ball that blasted Toxicroak in the gut knocking him back.

"_He dodged the attack before it even happened,"_ I thought to myself. _"How can that even be possible? The only Pokémon that can see things before they happen are psychic types due to their heightened sixth sense. Is there any other Pokémon that can see through time? Hold on, there may be another, just one other."_

Toxicroak stood up still clutching the cane and looked over at Sableye who still had not moved too far from his original place. Toxicroak growled angrily as he choked on the cane and began twirling it in his fingers like a baton as it slowly inched closer and closer to Sableye. Just before Toxicroak threw the cane from his fingers like a boomerang Sableye leaned backwards all the way until he was in a bridge position. Toxicroak released his grip on the cane and it flew towards Sableye who had just finished his position passing over his chest just by a few centimeters. The cane flew back around past Sableye who kept the same position until it flew back into Toxicroak's hand.

"Hmm, so you _can_ see the future?" he said skeptically. "Not a very common trait among your kind."

"I could take offense to that, you know," Sableye said standing up straight at about six foot six. "But at least I know I'm not subtle. Guess I'll have to work on that."

"If I give you that chance," Toxicroak said holding up his cane again like a sword. "If you can see into the future then tell me who's going to win."

"That's a secret," Sableye said wagging his finger back and forth as though scolding him.

"Then I'll make my own future," Toxicroak said swinging the cane at a speed high enough to break a bone.

"_That isn't ever going to work,"_ I thought watching Toxicroak idly swing his cane trying to pretty much dislocate any of Sableye's bones. _"The whole idea behind a time-seeking eye is that it can never be turned off, and you can't really go against what it says as it is fate. But if Sableye lived in Mt. Coronet, there's only one way he could be able to do that. And if I'm right, then he has the other ability too."_

While the battle continued Sableye never made any wide movements as he dodged the slashing movements of the black cane resulting in Toxicroak's anger growing.

"If you want, I'll tell you something," Sableye said teasingly as he jumped back to the farther end of the battlefield. "After you make an actual Pokémon attack, the battle will be over."

"Then my victory is already assured," Toxicroak said.

"_Not exactly,"_ I thought. _"All Sableye assured you of was that the battle would end after you finally use an elemental attack. Who's to say that Sableye will just idly sit by and let it hit him when he could attack with a move, probably psychic in element, and take the victory?"_

I placed my head in my hand as I leaned over the rail supporting my arm on the railing closing my eye as though in thought. Going unnoticed by the three around whom you were still watching the stalemate match continue as Toxicroak continued the same sword tactics and sometimes using the cane as a shortened Bo staff. In my head the images of Sableye, the tear mark tattoo, Dusknoir's warning, and then Mt. Coronet passed in front of my darkened vision. I began putting the images in different orders until I stopped and shot my eyes open and ran down the stair from the stands.

* * *

><p>I passed by the ticket gate by throwing by some yen and pushed my way to the walking path in front of the stands. The stands surrounded the stage on all sides and as such the path I was on did the same. I continued running around it until I was the closest I could get to Sableye. I placed my hands together and made the connection with my brain to his allowing me to speak with him through telepathy.<p>

"_Sableye? It's me," _I said as it took several seconds to answer.

"_Which 'me?' I know plenty of people who call themselves 'me,'" _he said jokingly as he turned to see my disgruntled face._ "So, anything I can do for you, and make it fast."_

"_You're not cursed, that much I can tell from your incredible self-control of not using more than one attack,"_ I said as he simply chuckled. _"But you live with a life that no Pokémon can ever even imagine that you go through. You are the same as an envoy for a legendary Pokémon, aren't you?"_

"_Was I that obvious?"_ he asked ducking under a swing from Toxicroak and then kicking his legs out from under him. _"Shall I tell you the whole sordid story?" _he asked looking back at me as I nodded. _"It must been about five years, when the two Pokémon Palkia and Dialga were summoned to create the new universe under the leadership of the evil man from those whackos Team Galactic guys, Cyrus. I watched the entire affair from my hiding spot on the Spear Pillar. There were three humans fighting the Galactic admins, I never learned their names, and then it was the girl among them that went on to fight Cyrus while the two boys with her fought his two admins. As Dialga and Palkia fought each other the waves they produced began destroying everything around them, and the next thing they hit was…me. The battle continued without anyone honoring a sideways glance to the Pokémon they had hit. I managed to stumble back into the caves when I finally noticed the burning sensation in my right eye. I ran to a nearby lake and looked inside to see the mark of the tear taking form on me. The first thing that happened after that was something that would change my life forever, but let's save that for another time."_

Sableye cut the telepathic line and went back to the impending stalemate match between the two with there being no clear fighter with the upper-hand, but the crowd was determined to cheer for only Sableye and still jeer at Toxicroak.

"Tough crowd, huh?" Sableye asked jump over Toxicroak.

"Oh, shut-up," Toxicroak said not amused as he made a side swipe move that impacted with Sableye's hip.

Sableye fell to the ground in pain holding the spot where he had been hit and then looked up at Toxicroak who was now holding the cane as it should be held.

"Well, looks like your prediction was wrong," he said leaning over and placing his cane aside to the wound on Sableye's hip.

Sableye groaned from pain but kept on his smile, "They must be worried about you," he said as Toxicroak looked at him confused but slightly frightened. "Your tribe back in the Great Marsh, they're wondering when their prized fighter is coming home."

Sableye pushed himself up from the ground with his hands and placed his hands in his pockets and he circled the field around Toxicroak.

"How do you know that?" he asked as Sableye turned to face him with his tattoo glowing. "Space, huh?"

"The wave that hit me was the result of both Dialga and Palkia attacking each other," Sableye explained so I could hear as well. "It gave me the ability to see through time and also through the dimensional plane."

"_But there's a reason he's considered cursed more than any Pokémon of our kind,"_ I thought. _"The only way to live with that ability is to realize that you don't have too much control over it, and that it shows you anything. Even things, you wish you didn't see."_

Sableye then made a small movement toward Toxicroak and appeared right next to him with his mouth next to his ear.

"And I also know this," he said as he began to whisper into his ear. As he did Toxicroak's eyes widened and began to narrow as he began to let his rage get the better of him.

Swinging the cane around him Toxicroak hit Sableye's back forcing him to other side of the stage. Toxicroak drove his cane into the stage making it stand up straight as he charged towards Sableye. Using the pointed areas of his long sleeved short under his normal coat Toxicroak began slashing at Sableye who tried his best to dodge but was continually scratched by the onslaught.

"When you use your first actual attack the battle will end," I said paraphrasing the prophecy that Sableye gave to him.

"Sorry, but it's my win," Sableye said still able to stand. "Zen Headbutt…" Sableye said as the top of his head became cloaked in light as he ran towards Toxicroak.

"Don't insult me!" Toxicroak said barely above his normal whisper as he attacked straight to Sableye never even flinching.

Just before the two collided Toxicroak touched the ground and launched himself sideways slashing Sableye across the opposite hip as Sableye fell down in pain finishing his skid across the wood in the center. Toxicroak's eyes were still void of any emotion as he picked up his cane and brought it over his head ready to finish him off.

"Don't do it!" someone shouted from the competitor stands making everyone turn around to face her. "Please don't hurt him anymore!" the voice called out again as I recognized Cassandra's shrill voice whenever she shouted.

Toxicroak remained motionless looking at Cassandra and put the cane on the ground and walked away from the stage as the audience booed him again as he walked back into the waiting room. After Alice declared the winner I ran out to Sableye who was still lingering from the attack. After reaching the stage I put his arm over my shoulder as he groaned signifying his consciousness.

"What hit me?" he asked holding his arm up against his face.

"About twenty consecutive Poison Jab attacks," I answered. "We'll find some peaches; we've already established they're the equivalent of a Pecha Berry."

"Thanks," he said. "And as payment, the rest of my story. The first thing I saw was…" he said whispering something into my ear as my eyes widened with fear as I carried him to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>Returning to the stands with my eyes still wide with fear Cassandra ran up to me and helped me seeing my current state.<p>

"Something's got you spooked," she noticed as I took a deep breath.

"Not really," I lied. "Just something that Sableye told me before I got him to the infirmary."

"How is he?" she asked. "He looked pretty bad."

"He was poisoned by those attacks," I said. "All he needs is come peaches and he'll be fine. More importantly, what were you thinking? Trying to reason with a guy like that."

"He listened," Cassandra reminded.

"That's beside the point," I said walking back towards Kimiko and Satoshi. _"How can I tell her what I was told by Sableye? It wouldn't only break her heart, but maybe mine as well."_

* * *

><p>The gong was rung, and by now the sound had no effect on me, but still on Satoshi who fell down.<p>

"Now to begin battle eight, and end the first round for Block A," Alice said as the audience cheered. "Now to bring out our first competitor. He goes from country to country learning new recipes, and making his own little twists along the way. Please welcome, from Paris, France, master chef Kazan!"

Quilava ran out to the field receiving much more cheers than the Pokémon before him, and definitely more than Toxicroak. I looked away for a second and then noticed a large squeal from the spot where Quilava was as the front of those stands was filled with what I figured to be his fan club at this academy. I chuckled as Quilava blushed from the attention he was getting and then ran from the group to the center stage.

"Next, from the cultural city of Madrid in Spain please welcome Lucy!" Alice announced as my eye instantly snapped in the opposite direction as I noticed the image of the woman who was the mysterious Pokémon Ninetales.

Ninetales walked out with her light colored hair swaying behind her silently as Quilava watched her intently. She made it to the stage with the audience silenced by her apparent beauty that she didn't seem to make too much of a focus of. She faced Quilava with a small smile as Quilava returned the favor as his hair fell over his eyes slightly from the cold winter wind.

"We pretty much know everything about Quilava," Cassandra said. "So, does he have a good chance?" she asked.

"No," I answered. "In fact, he has next to chance of winning against a Ninetales."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because of an ability that Ninetales has called Flash Fire," someone said from behind. "It takes any fire attacks that a Pokémon uses against them and absorbs them, takes no damage from them, and transfers it to its own fire power."

"Well, aren't you late, Bayleef?" I said turning around to see the young girl about Quilava's age. "So, I take it you have no faith in Quilava to win without his fire?"

"Well, I'm just being skeptical," Bayleef said leaning over the rail to watch the match. "Without fire these kind of Pokémon have very little power. Also, Quilava's ability Blaze can only help his own fire, and that's next to useless for him."

"We'll see," I said as the gong was rung. "Just remember, I said _next_ to no chance."

"You may have the first attack," Ninetales said in a silky voice.

"Thank you, miss," Quilava said as he clapped his hands together releasing a flurry of Swift attack.

"Quilava lived for years unable to use any fire attacks," I explained. "He knows how to fight without it. The question that's going to sway this match is if he knows how not to fight without it, but to fight fire period."

The Swift attack quickly travelled towards Ninetales as she simply turned around in a circular motion. Her hair made a whipping motion impacting with the Swift neutralizing without as much as sign of a burn from the impact.

"You'll have to try better than that," Ninetales said with no sign of overconfidence whatsoever. "So, I guess it's my turn," she said as her eye lit up with a ring of fire appearing around her.

Breathing out Ninetales forced a section of the ring to become an open path that allowed the rest of the fire to shoot out at Kazan who could merely chuckle as he was blasted back towards the end of the stage and almost falling into the water. Quilava stood up as Ninetales sped toward him and stopped right in front of him standing almost a foot taller. She looked down at him with a smile and then grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back.

"Okay, didn't see that coming," Quilava said shaking his head.

As he turned his head Quilava came face to face with Ninetales who was kneeling down on her feet and still smiling a warm smile. Quilava backed up before she could try anything and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't think that you can hope to beat me in this match," she said from behind him. Quilava turned around fast enough to put up a guard as Ninetales made a sweeping kick across his body.

Quilava tumbled several times towards the corner of the battle field as I could only chuckle at the situation.

"This is more than a little pathetic," I said with my arms folded.

"What'd I tell you?" Bayleef said.

"Really, this isn't based on your premise that Quilava can't win due to his inability of using fire," I explained. "This is more of the fact that Ninetales has much for experience in battles, and Quilava has about one tenth of the experience she has."

"How old is she?" Kimiko asked.

"With Ninetales is hard to tell," I said. "Ninetales are capable of living for millennia with each hundred years unlocking more of its power. Along with that Ninetales are among the most versatile of all pure fire types. So even if she were fighting a Pokémon with Flash Fire she still has the ability to use psychic, ghost, normal, or even grass attributed attacks."

"So it's like a Pokémon who can have the ultimate power?" Satoshi asked.

"Unfortunately, no," I answered. "In fact, with the right match-up Ninetales is relatively easy to defeat. But, let's face it; Quilava is not the kind of Pokémon that can defeat a Pokémon like her."

Quilava stood up and staggered his breathing as he looked up to see Ninetales running towards him and stopping right in front of him.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if you continue to get up," she said as her eyes began glowing a pale blue. Quilava was then picked up and thrown to the other end of the stage. "I'll have to continue putting you down," she finished as Quilava stumbled to his feet.

Looking around the stands my eye stopped at the group of girls from Quilava's fan club as they were all shouting at Ninetales. "Why don't you stop picking on a kid!" one of them shouted.

"_Too bad he's not being picked on," _I thought as I watched them. _"In a fight like this it's not whether or male or female, young or old, or any kind of difference. It's whether or not you're able to fight period. On a plane like this those two are equals with the only difference being their experience."_

"Funny," Quilava started with a chuckle. "And here I thought Ninetales were supposed to be strong."

My jaw dropped to the ground as I looked down at Ninetales' facial expression turn to slight aggravation as her eye began twitching. Quilava looked up and saw her eyes beginning to turn into two bright lights along with an evil smile decorating her face.

"Oh bad," he said running along the edge of the battlefield with Ninetales chasing after him throwing blasts of fire towards him. "Me and my big mouth!"

"_You brought that on yourself, Quilava," _I thought while chuckling over the scene. _"One thing you never do is insult a Ninetales in the case of her power. As a proud Pokémon they are generally not welcome to people or Pokémon doing that."_

"So, remind me, does Quilava have any chances?" Cassandra asked.

"Just based on this…no," Kimiko answered while both began laughing.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well those two are enjoying their time together, there has to be some catalyst I'm missing here,"<em> I thought taking my eyes off the match. _"Ever since I've known those two at the same time they've been at each other's throats. It makes you wonder how they act when they're alone. When we went to Okinawa for that little trip the two of them seemed to be the best of friends when I ate their chocolates. Then there was the time that I was trying to round up the Pokémon and they threw that party. And now they're sharing a chuckle over Kazan's shortcomings."_

Turning my head back I saw that Quilava was now on the ground with Ninetales staggering her breathing. Quilava supported himself up with his arms and sat up straight. Both Pokémon began panting trying to catch their breath as Ninetales began to soften her eyes and then burst out laughing. Quilava did the same as I began chuckling while shaking my head.

"_They've lost it,"_ I thought as I looked around as the entire audience was all smiling. _"And they've pulled us all into as well. To be honest, I think it's Quilava. He's the catalyst for all this right now. He didn't want to win coming in here, he just wanted to help change the mood after that fight between Sableye and Toxicroak. He just wanted us to look at the bright side of this. Funny guy, but is it really going to help in battle?"_

* * *

><p>"Well, that was fun," Ninetales said. "Now to have a bit more fun," she said summoning another ring of fire.<p>

"She's kind of creepy," Kimiko said.

"Nah, she just prefers to be around kids," Bayleef corrected. "I took a day trip to Spain and wandered into a restaurant called La Corral de la Moreria. She works as a waitress there, and we got to talking. She has a soft spot for kids and likes to take care of them for people. She told me that she really doesn't trust people in general so Quilava must remind her of someone."

"Well, Quilava is a likeable person if you haven't noticed," I said pointing over to his fan club as they were all shouting at Ninetales angrily. "He brings a positive attitude in people by ignoring the parts of life that are generally not what we want to notice."

"Let's continue," Ninetales said.

"Not necessary," Quilava responded. "I think I'm done here. I give the win to you."

"Wait, what?" Ninetales asked as she watched Quilava walking away.

"I only had one motive in coming here to this tournament," Quilava explained. "To make you forget about what happened to you for even a fraction of the time we were fighting. And I succeeded in that when you started laughing."

"_Same old Quilava never takes anything seriously except for what he really wants to do," _I thought as I looked back at the fan club trying to jump from the stands to Quilava as he ran past them. _"And he still finds any notion of romantic feelings terrifying."_

"So why did he really forfeit?" Cassandra asked.

"Quilava is really a pacifist at heart, that's why he never attacked her with an attack that would've caused too much physical injury," I explained. "Obviously Quilava wanted specifically to battle Ninetales to help her move past something that he knows about her, probably heard through the grapevine. And that's why he forfeited the battle even though he could've won easily."

"What was that?" Bayleef asked confused by my meaning.

"It has been established that Pokémon can use moves that they normally can't in this world," I reminded. "And the move I'm betting on that Quilava learned was an attack that can't be seen by the naked called Simple Beam. An attack that changes the target's ability from what it once was to an ability called Simple which essentially does nothing within battle. At the beginning of the battle I could sense the move being used within the Swift. As a beam of concentrated light it moved faster than his Swift attack and therefore reached Ninetales before she deflected the swift attack."

"He chose not to win," Bayleef said.

"Not true," I said. "I said he could've won, but in reality, a few more attacks by those continuous Flamethrowers and he would've been burnt to a crisp. Either Ninetales won, but Quilava chose not to become a chestnut roasting on an open fire."

"He's quite a guy, no wonder people love him," Cassandra said as I looked over her shoulder to find Satoshi whispering in Kimiko's ear.

"What's he doing now?" I asked as Kimiko punched him in the gut.

"I'm not going to date a guy three years younger than me!" she said as I heard a loud sneeze from the waiting rooms.

"Will the first four competitors of B Block please go to the waiting room and please wait for the signal to go out?" Alice announced as I looked behind me to find the four people reacting to her.

"_Ekans, Infernape, Charizard, and Meowth, huh?"_ I asked myself as they walked down the stairs. _"Not exactly very exciting on the face, but you never know, they may be more interesting than a possible rogue, and then a Quilava that can use Simple Beam."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Sableye (Keeps) played by The Helpless Romantic

Toxicroak (Hemlock) played by The Helpless Romantic

Quilava (Kazan) played by Bionicleguru

Ninetales (Lucy) played by HollowShinigamiGirl7

Bayleef (Lily) played by Kitsunelover300

* * *

><p>Chapter 21 complete. Sorry about the late update, but I can't think of a better time than this to do it. I hate being sick, but it does give you a good opportunity to write. The next two matches are between Ekans and Infernape and then Charizard and Meowth, comments please.<p>

Chapter 22 preview: The matches are heating, but Tori has yet to show up and his match is coming up. I have a question: where the heck is he! Next time: Fighting With Humans, Battles 9 and 10.


	23. Fighting with Humans, Battles 9 and 10

Here's chapter twenty two of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Sorry, but I've been taking a break from it to work on. The second block begins their battle in this chapter with Ekans and Infernape, both made by Bionicleguru and then Charizard and Meowth. This could really go either way as I see it, and I do have a plan as to keep this story from becoming monotonous in one way or another.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: Fighting with Humans, Battles 9 and 10<p>

"_He has maybe an hour before his match and he still hasn't even bothered to watch the other matches to find out his competition. Tori, you're an idiot if you think that it'll help you against an entire series of superior fighters," _I thought looking down at the stage and then all around me. _"If you were as smart as you think you are then you would at least have the brains to show up before your match."_

The stands seemed empty now. Many of the competitors from the first block had left the stands to go about the festival. Toxicroak had disappeared after his match which raised my suspicions, but based on the same logic I was still curious about Gallade and the large man behind me; Abomasnow. I waited for Alice to approach the gong, but she didn't move from her seat next to the microphone for several minutes.

"_I guess everyone else is worried about Sableye,"_ I contemplated as I thought back to the Pokémon as he was slung over my shoulder. _"And what he told me. It still chills my bones."_

I heard rapid footsteps from the stairs as Cassandra ran up them panting. She kneeled over trying to catch her breath while holding her knees. I walked to her and knelt down with her with genuine concern on my face.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's resting right now," Cassandra replied as I sighed out of relief. "The doctor said that he'll be fine if he just rests. But why did Toxicroak stop hitting him after I yelled?"

"He considers humans weak," a deep voice said from the background. I turned around to see the large form of the Abomasnow turned towards us. "He doesn't believe that humans aren't worth his time, but he doesn't want to see anyone be discouraged in fighting. You shouting at him to stop showed an apparent weakness in him that he could see and wanted to keep that weakness from overtaking you."

"Why would he care if a human is strong or not?" I asked helping Cassandra up.

"Toxicroak came here on the premise that there would be stronger opponents here," Abomasnow explained. "To him, fighting is a world to itself, and one that should be honored above all else. Anyone he perceives as weak doesn't belong in his world."

"Then why nurture a strength in a frail human girl?" I asked.

"He may have his own reasons," he suggested. "It's not my place to question a Pokémon like that."

"Pokémon like that?" Cassandra asked.

"A Pokémon that is superior to him in almost every aspect," I answered. "Abomasnow is an ice and grass type Pokémon while Toxicroak is a poison and fighting type. Both of Toxicroak's elements can be perceived as super effective against Abomasnow's."

* * *

><p>Typhlosion walked up to Alice and whispered something into her ear as she nodded and stood up tapping the microphone.<p>

"Attention please," she started. "Contestant Keeps has sustained heavy bruising, but it is nothing life threatening. We expect him to make a full recovery so let's continue with him in mind," she explained as the audience clapped in accordance as Alice calmed to crowd with her hand. "The first match in the B Block is between these two young men. The first, one of the students from the Okinawa sister academy to this one. Scholarship student, class representative, and expert martial artist please welcome Saru!"

Infernape walked out to the stage with a confident smile on his face as he kept his hands hidden in his pockets. The audience cheered which only seemed to boost his ego. Alice nodded and looked at the other corner where a smaller figure leaned against the doorway.

"And from Madrid, Spain, travelling student and all-around mystery please welcome Veleno!" she announced as the small figure walked out of the waiting area over to the center stage.

Ekans' somber eyes silenced the audience as he walked down the wooden path not paying attention to anything around him. Infernape looked down the path at Ekans and smiled as Ekans showed the same somber face he wore as he was walking. As Ekans made it up the stage he kept his gaze downward with his purple tinted hair covering his face.

"So what's the 411 on these guys?" Satoshi asked me as I leaned over the railing.

"Both of these Pokémon are ones that I've met before," I explained as I looked over at Infernape first. "Infernape is a thrill seeker who doesn't find any meaning in life if he can't be entertained. He lives in Okinawa for the fun of it. Fire types normally have an aversion to water, and that seems to be his natural desire to be there. As for Ekans, I only know as far as what I've learned in the past few hours. From what I know, Ekans is a loner by nature, and that may have been his downfall. As for their fighting styles, it's pretty straight forward. Infernape is your basic no-holds-barred all-out fighter while Ekans is short and to the point. I remember watching Ekans fight in the preliminaries. What he would do is jump up and make a snapping motion with his kick across somebody's face. It really did help in defeating opponents much larger than himself."

"So who has the upper hand here?" Cassandra asked.

"To be honest, nobody," I replied. "The two are evenly matches in speed, and measurable power. We'll have to see what the future holds."

* * *

><p>Alice rang the gong signaling the start of the fight as the two Pokémon charged each other. Ekans quickly skidded past Infernape and spun on the ground making a sweeping motion with a kick. Infernape jumped over the kick and thrust his own foot towards Ekans who spun around and wrapped his arm around the leg.<p>

"Infernape's in trouble now," I said as I looked at Ekans' tight grip on his leg.

"How do you mean?" Kimiko asked.

"There is a move known by all Pokémon with serpentine figures and tentacles," I explained. "The move Wrap is a steady damage one that in some cases can instantly cease movement from the victim. Despite his young age, Ekans has an amazing amount of power stored in his body which is probably why he needs no Enabler."

"He doesn't have an Enabler?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, it's more that he doesn't have a removable Enabler," I explained. "Ekans' power is in his eyes, much like his opponent's. Both Pokémon simply need at least one eye open to make access to their moves."

Ekans kept a firm grip on Infernape's leg as his victim began to feel the pain coming with the move. Infernape struggled in his grip and fell over onto his back with no way of reaching Ekans from his current position. Ekans looked down at Infernape with his golden eyes glowing wildly and no visible emotion in them.

"Why don't you smile every once in a while?" he asked as Ekans tightened his grip.

"I was never taught how to," Ekans answered cryptically. "Something must be taught to someone before they can understand it fully, and how it can be processed."

"Talk about a stick in the mud," Infernape said turning his body and kicking Ekans across the face in a wide motion. Ekans skidded across the stage and landed on his side holding himself against the polished wood. "Who said that smiles had to be taught?"

"Everything has to be taught," Ekans said not wavering in his belief. "At least for me."

"How pathetic," Infernape said disappearing and reappearing in front of Ekans' face. "You're so caught up in your pity that you can't see what's in front of you."

"My eyes see clear enough," Ekans said confusing Infernape as he pushed his hand on the ground. "Sludge Wave!" he shouted as a sickly purple shock wave traveled through the ground and knocked Infernape onto his back. "Clear enough to see your own foolishness."

"Foolishness?" Infernape asked standing back up and charging Ekans again.

"You believe in your power alone," Ekans said making a fighting stance. "You have the mindset of believing in yourself is enough to move a mountain. Where would you be if you weren't Rayquaza's stooge?" he asked jumping up and spinning around and kicking Infernape across the face in a snapping motion.

Infernape only slid across the wood for a few seconds before pushing off the ground and jumping back to his feet.

* * *

><p>"What does he mean Rayquaza's stooge?" Kimiko asked.<p>

"Rayquaza is a Pokémon known as the Sky-High Pokémon," I explained. "A legendary dragon capable of calming any weather related disaster. He and two other Pokémon, Groudon and Kyogre, choose for themselves emissaries or seconds in command. They are always Torterra for Groudon, Empoleon for Kyogre, and Infernape for Rayquaza. Coincidentally the three Pokémon of those species are the ones we know," I said as the two of them looked back at Empoleon beginning to doze off. "These Pokémon are normally considered weak by their previous trainers and are taken in and trained by the legendary Pokémon. Ekans is accusing of Infernape of using Rayquaza as a means to get stronger."

* * *

><p>Infernape's kept his head down as he stood up, the words still echoing in his mind. He clenched his fist tighter and ran towards Ekans who welcomed the attack.<p>

"Rayquaza is not my summit!" he shouted as his fists became engulfed in flames. "And you will not accuse me of being nothing more than his errand boy," he said thrusting his left fist at Ekans which was dodged easily. After the first punch was dodged Infernape pushed his second fist towards Ekans and struck him in the cheek. "I have no summit. Nobody ever has a limit to their power. They just need a reason to get reason for increasing their strength."

"If you really believe that then you have a dishonest life," Ekans said lifting his head up with his eye glowing again. "You really believe that no one has a limit to how strong they can get? Everyone has a limit!" he shouted charging him and kicking Infernape in the face.

"Only those who believe in limits have them!" Infernape shouted in return punching Ekans across the face again with his eyes now glowing an angry red color. "But you do lead a more honest life than most."

"How do you figure that?" Ekans asked jumping up and kicking downward and being caught by Infernape.

"You don't lie about your emotions," Infernape said throwing him down only for Ekans to catch himself with his hands. "You don't make a fake smile that would otherwise disgust people. Instead, you don't smile because you find nothing to smile about."

"Then why don't respect my idea that there are limits to people?" Ekans asked twirling his body and kicking Infernape with his free foot.

"Then you deter people from trying to beat their summits," he said releasing Ekans from his grip. "Just remember there's always a bigger mountain."

* * *

><p>Back in the stands all four of us were confused as to how the two could be holding a fighting match and a philosophical debate at the same time.<p>

"Why does he keep referring to limits in power as summits?" Satoshi asked.

"It has to do with his training with Rayquaza," Empoleon said from behind us. "While training with a Pokémon otherwise known as the 'Sky-High' Pokémon you have to train in higher than normal altitudes. Half of the training was climbing those mountains without the use of Pokémon abilities and moves. After reaching the top Rayquaza would be waiting and then motion towards a bigger mountain. The next day, Infernape would climb the mountains one after the after until one day when Rayquaza took him to the Sky Pillar."

"What's that?" Satoshi asked.

"The giant column where Rayquaza lives," Empoleon answered. "Anyway, the job was to climb the Sky Pillar using only one Pokémon move to scale the entire thing. To anyway this was impossible, but Infernape tried for days to think which move could do the job done."

* * *

><p>On the battlefield Infernape was relaying the same story to Ekans while the two were locked in a battle position.<p>

"I tried for days, but I couldn't figure out a single move powerful to scale the entire pillar in one sitting," he said backing up from Ekans while holding his hands out. "Eventually I broke down and asked Rayquaza for an answer to my question. He only said this, 'I gave you this test on the premise that you would give up and leave my side. Instead you have done what no one has. Humbling yourself to your master is an admirable quality. When you were given this task I had only one move in mind that you did not yet know, but through humbling yourself you have proven yourself worthy. Your humbled attitude was the entire purpose of climbing mountains. With this move you can scale any summit and always remember that no one truly has a summit. There is always a bigger mountain.' He gave me this move and now I can use it freely. Fair warning, you'll want to dodge," he said as his entire body erupted into flames with his eyes glowing both brown and red. "Blast Burn!"

Infernape charged Ekans at a blinding speed with a body currently hotter than any person could survive and simply pushed his palm against him launching him to the edge of the stage.

"This is proof that I have no summit," he said holding his hand open in front of Ekans. "What is your summit if you believe they exist?"

"I don't have to go up to find my summit, but just the opposite," Ekans said as Infernape charged him and released the fire around him in a large blast that engulfed an entire part of the stage. Ekans was seemingly gone when a hand grabbed Infernape's arm from underneath him. "My summit will be reached, but right now I'm still underground," he said launching himself out of the boards and spinning in the air ending in a large kick in Infernape's gut. "People and Pokémon have limits, but refuting them isn't the key to strength. Realizing them is humility, and that is the key to a person's true strength," he explained leaning down next to Infernape's unconscious body. "Thanks for a good time," Ekans said walking away. "And thanks for teaching me," he said with his head partially covered by his hair with his small smile now visible.

* * *

><p>Alice rang the gong signaling the end of the match as Infernape was taken to the infirmary and the repair crew began to do their job.<p>

"You sure meant it when no one had the advantage, Itzal," Cassandra said.

"Ekans had it won after Infernape released the rest of his fire from Blast Burn," Empoleon explained. "There is a small gap between the ground and the tips of the fire about two feet long. All Ekans had to do, being a snake and very flexible, was bend background or forward to avoid the flames while burrowing into the boards for a super effective Dig attack. It's the next match that won't leave much opening for mistakes."

"She's right," I said. "It's between Meowth and Charizard. One mistake in the fighting and suddenly we have a winner. Both of those Pokémon fight based on necessity which translates to one thing; perfection. Neither Pokémon makes mistakes when they battle and when one of them does that'll be it."

"Come on, no one is perfect," Kimiko said.

"Exactly," I said as Alice tapped the microphone producing some more feedback.

* * *

><p>"Well, let's begin the next match, and let's hear it for our medical and repair teams," she said applauding the men walking away from the stage. "Our next match features these two experienced fighters. First, owner of Koban Sushi let's hear it for Nyaro!" she announced as the confident figure walked out and entered the stage. "And now, test pilot all the way from Canada, please welcome Phyrrus!" she announced as the tall man walked out to the stage with his cut jacket blowing in the wind behind him.<p>

"Nyaro is a Pokémon called Meowth, they're known for scratching-cased attacks, but can also use a move that produces a montage of coins called Payday," I explained. "Charizard is more based in its physical strength for crushing blows as well as powerful fire based attacks. In hindsight it's easy to see that Charizard has incredible power, but Meowth is faster and has greater accuracy."

"What about these guys as people?" Satoshi asked.

"Meowth is a vigilante," I answered. "He opens his shop mostly for yakuza syndicates and gang members. From this he learns about their plans and takes them out. Charizard is an easy going test pilot who wouldn't get overly upset if he crashed. We learned that the hard way."

Meowth and Charizard began sizing each other off with little movement from the bodies, but most of it in their eyes. Meowth was still flipping his Koban Enabler in the air as he made a small fighting stance that Charizard accepted with a much larger stance.

"Why make a small stance like that when his opponent is so large?" Cassandra asked.

"To converse energy," Satoshi replied. "By pulling yourself in you can take hits easier and you can make faster movements."

* * *

><p>"Begin!" Alice shouted ringing on the gong with Charizard jumping towards Meowth with elongated claws made out of a multi-colored fire.<p>

As Charizard began his descent towards Meowth he began to push his claws towards him when a small circle appeared around Meowth. Charizard hesitated in his movement and suddenly was struck across the face causing him to fall on his back. Meowth stuck to his pose with his right hand outstretched and his claws facing Charizard engulfed in shadows.

"Like I said, there's no room for hesitation," I reiterated. "Hone Claws is a move that increases a user's attack power, but gives off that deceptive light. Meowth didn't use the small stance to increase his maneuverability, but more to draw Charizard in with his more powerful moves only to make him second-guess himself. This is where Meowth is considered superior in fighting compared to Charizard."

Charizard quickly stood up and charged Meowth again, but this time attacking from the side forcing Meowth to the ground. From there, Meowth pushed himself up and struck Charizard while still in mid-air. Charizard fell back and flipped over using his hands and kicked Meowth across the stomach forcing him down onto the ground.

"See what I mean?" I asked. "With the exception of the first move, every move thereafter is made in succession to each other," I explained as Meowth and Charizard kept building off of each others' moves.

The chain reaction of moves continued until both were in mid-air changing their movements as quickly as each other. Charizard then kicked Meowth towards the other end of the stage still in mid-air when Meowth simply chuckled. He flipped his Koban towards Charizard as it split into multiple projectiles that began to barrage Charizard.

"And that would be the Payday attack?" Satoshi asked.

"Precisely," I replied. "But Charizard is about to get more dangerous as well."

Charizard was left silent in the same defensive pose that he had while being attacked by the Payday. He closed his eyes and placed his hands together in a meditation like stance that seemed to help him focus as the twin tattoos on his back began reacting. Out of the two tattoos appeared two spectral leather wings.

"Now to get serious," he said flying towards Meowth.

Thrusting his head back Charizard jerked it forward and began to breath out a large stream of fire that blasted against Meowth as he was forced backwards into the water.

"Hey, I thought cat's hated water," Charizard said as Meowth had yet to reappear from the pool. "What are you doing?" he asked as a barrage of small Koban were launched from where Meowth splashed into the water.

"You think I have a weakness to the provider of life?" Meowth said jumping out of the water with his dripping water droplets like rain.

The barrage of coins began to attack Charizard, but were all blocked by his large wingspan. Both Charizard and Meowth stopped and chuckled and then burst out into laughter.

* * *

><p>"Are they okay?" Kimiko asked confused by their joy.<p>

"It's because they sympathize with each other," I explained. "Both of them fight for a reason that both tie into their pasts. Before the tournament I got to talk to some of the Pokémon and these were two of them."

"So what happened to them?" Cassandra asked.

"Charizard was born into duty," I said looking down at the winged figure. "His parents forced him to do things that didn't become him. Whenever he would talk back he was beaten for disrespecting his parents."

"What did they want him to do?"

"They wanted him to erupt a volcano," I said as the three around me were overcome with shock. "His parents considered it divine punishment for people who still lived on what they called their island. Both of them were too weak to do it, so they put the job of wiping an entire city off the face of the map on their only son. He was too afraid to face his parents, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Charizard was left with a choice; obey his parents out of fear, or disobey to save thousands of people. Charizard chose the right idea…he gave both. He erupted the volcano but as it erupted he blasted a giant hole in the side of the volcano causing the lava to spill out the other side. His parents then tried to force him into the water for not giving them what they wanted. Unfortunately for them, Charizard had already found a friend, in the entire population of the inhabitants of the island. He told his parents before they left, 'You called me weak not for listening to you, but who's stronger, the submissive man, or the one willing to fight?'"

"What about Nyaro?" Kimiko asked.

"Meowth was born into a different place…fear," I explained. "Meowth was born into a family of Meowth that were afraid of their own shadows. Because of this, they were frequently attacked by raiders wanting their food supplies. Instead of standing up and fighting, his family cowered and let them have their way. Meowth became sick of it, and he was ready to leave when he took one last look at the village to find it in flames. He ran back in a mad dash and looked around to find a gang of wild Zangoose destroying his home. Meowth, having trained in private, began fighting off the group with his power fueled by rage. Leaving only the leader standing Meowth and him began to fighting shocking the gang leaders and his village friends with his power. Meowth asked the leader, 'Why did you choose this village to attack?' and the leader replied, 'To prove our strength.' Completely full of rage, Meowth defeated the gang leader, but not without a receiving a scar across his arm that should still be there."

"So they both had to fight something to save so many other people," Cassandra said understanding. "Charizard to save an island from his tyrants, and Meowth to save his own family from a bunch of bullies."

* * *

><p>Meowth and Charizard both kept their eyes fixed on each other as they charged towards the center and came within a fist's reach of each other.<p>

"To think we had so much in common," Charizard said.

"Even though we seemed so different," Meowth said continuing.

Charizard thrust his arm towards him as Meowth blocked with a kick. Both kept smiling at each other as they kept blocking each other's moves at the same speed.

"Let me ask you a question," Charizard said. "Why are you entering this tournament?"

"Many reasons," he said. "Advertisement for the shop, but maybe something else not so shallow."

"I'd like to know," Charizard said ducking under and kicking him upward only to be blocked by Meowth's hands.

"I was given the responsibility to protect someone," he said as his face turned more somber. "And I'll prove my power to make sure she stays safe. Otherwise, how can I face Quilava knowing that I let him down. What about you?"

"Mostly for the fun of it," Charizard said. "But also, to show the people I know that I'm not a failure. All my life, that's what I've been called, and now I have a chance at making myself be known."

"You're parents don't matter anymore," Meowth said twisting his leg and forcing Charizard onto his back. "All that matters is you."

"I'm confident that you'll keep that person safe," Charizard said while pushing himself up with the wings on his back. "More importantly, we have something to finish."

"You're right," Meowth said holding the Koban in his fingers. "This will be the last exchange, won't it?"

"Unless we're stronger than we think," Charizard answered. "On the count of three?"

"Sure," Meowth agreed. "One."

"Two."

"THREE!" the two shouted in unison as Charizard released a large Flamethrower attack.

Seconds before the Flamethrower impacted Meowth threw the Koban into the air in a spiral motion. From that the barrage of Koban began to make a spiral shower motion that acted both as an attack and barrier from the Flamethrower as the stream began to weaken after constant beating. As one of the Koban fell in front of Meowth he threw it up again producing more and more Payday attacks that continually weakened the Flamethrower and began their onslaught of Charizard. This continued in a pattern until Charizard fell to the ground and Meowth ceased the barrage.

Meowth walked up to his fallen opponent while flipping the coin in his hand. Looking down at Charizard, Meowth gave a small chuckle and helped him up after Alice declared him the winner. The audience clapped as they saw Charizard walking with his arm slung over Meowth's shoulder. I smiled knowing that they were still fighters that showed respect to one another as opposed to the mercilessness showed my Toxicroak. I looked around me and still found no sign of Tori even though his match was quickly approaching.

* * *

><p>"Well, talk about exciting," Alice said into the microphone. "Can we please have the next four contestants to the waiting room for the upcoming matches?"<p>

Reacting to this I turned my head around to see Empoleon leaving first with Blaziken following after. After both of them the tall and strong figure of the Vigoroth I saw in the preliminaries followed after with tired eyes.

"_Tori, we're halfway through the first round, and you're still not here,"_ I thought. _"Although, if it was out of fear, I could partially understand because Empoleon is as dangerous as a battler as she is a girl, and trust me, they're dangerous,"_ I thought looking over at Cassandra and Kimiko. _"This tournament is revealing more than I would've cared for, but if it gets me any closer to that rogue, I truly believe it'll be worth it. Until next fight."_

* * *

><p>Duskull (Itzal) played by Nightfall00<p>

Typhlosion (Johann) played by Soaring Crow Ver2.0

Ekans (Veleno) played by Bionicleguru

Infernape (Saru) played by Bionicleguru

Empoleon (Mizu) played by Timberstar

Meowth (Nyaro) played by Comicfan616

Charizard (Phyrrus) played by Timberstar

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty two complete. Well there you go. The first winners for the second block are Ekans and Meowth. Didn't expect that did you? I'm sorry for those of you who are losing currently, but most of these are random and I just make them work. The next match-ups will be Blaziken and Vigoroth and then maybe Empoleon and our only human in the tournament Tori. Tell me what you think.<p>

Chapter twenty three preview: The battles continue, but Tori still isn't here and the clock is ticking on his amount of time. Will he make it, or will his effort to get into this tournament all be for naught? Next time: Fighting with Humans, Battles 11 and 12.


	24. Fighting with Humans, Battles 11 and 12

Here's chapter twenty three of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Well, now time for the match that a certain user has been dreading for weeks. That is if their opponent would show up. Also, a match that takes the seriousness out of the matches after Toxicroak, Ekans, and the match that might come after theirs. Although, seriously, I need a life because I started putting all these chapters onto a single Word Document and it's come out to about 226 pages. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 23: Fighting with Humans, Battles 11 and 12<p>

"_This is getting ridiculous,"_ I said to myself pacing the floor nervously. _"It's not that I want Tori to battle Empoleon, but I'll admit it's tempting to want to see him get pounded to a pulp. Man, I'm horrible, but I love it. I've already sent Cassandra, Satoshi, and Kimiko out to search for him, but no one's called back. And based on how long these matches have been it would only seem logical that Tori have half an hour to get his beef-loving self over here."_

I paced the floor of the stands nervously waiting for Cassandra's and the other two's return when I looked behind me at the other Pokémon that had yet to battle. From the left it was Abomasnow, Drifloon, Dewott, Absol, Aggron, Swampert, Glaceon, and Dewgong. Only one held any interest in my mind and that was the large Abomasnow that had talked to me earlier about Toxicroak.

"_Back in the prelims Abomasnow made notice of his power almost as though he were boasting it outright,"_ I thought as my eyes were averted back to the stage as the repair crews were still working on repairing the holes made by Meowth's Payday barrage. _"But when we talked earlier it was as though he never even cared about the tournament or fighting as much as the other two suspects, Toxicroak and Gallade. He still has yet to fight, maybe he has his reasons for entering, but he's still so cryptic about who he is that it makes him more suspicious than Toxicroak who's less subtle."_

"Problem?" somebody asked behind me. I turned around to find the Beautifly I met with Glaceon the other day with a wide smile on her face.

"Just a lot going through my head is all," I said turning back to face the stage. "When I thought of the idea for this tournament I never thought that so many different truths would come to light. Every truth, except for the one I needed. I'm supposed to be finding a rogue Pokémon and all I've found is a bunch of Pokémon who each have a more unique story than my own."

"Makes you feel kinda small, doesn't it?" she asked. "Knowing that when you have so many friends with much more tragic lives than your own?"

"In a way, it does," I agreed as she sat on the railing facing away from the stage. "It makes me feel as though brooding over my problem as a Cursed Pokémon is so much smaller than even that Ekans. You're a lot smarter than I thought you were."

"Beg pardon?" she asked slightly angry and holding up a fist.

"I take it back," I said as she calmed down. "But I do appreciate you talking to me. One of the contestants in the tournament hasn't shown up and I'm a little worried how this will affect this whole event's ratings."

"Is it that cute guy who used the big rod?" Beautifly asked.

"I can only vouch for the rod part," I said as she chuckled. "But yeah. The weird thing is Tori's the one who talked to the Phantom Thief S about changing the date of the tournament and he's not here."

"Maybe he's just making us sweat," she said.

"Well, that makes one coat ruined, then," I said fanning the inside of my coat. As I continued to talk Beautifly I heard rapid footsteps from the stairs with Cassandra running up to me. "How'd it go?"

"Would I come back alone if I had found him?" she asked in reply.

"No need to be sarcastic," I said. "Did one of you check the waiting rooms?"

"Satoshi said that he'd check things out, but I still haven't heard from either him or Kimiko," she explained. "We may have to entertain the possibility that Tori backed down from the challenge."

"Tori wouldn't quit after getting through the prelims," I said as Beautifly nodded in agreement.

"Besides that guy wouldn't want to disappoint his crowd," she said. "A lot of people are here waiting for him to battle."

"Why him?" Kimiko asked walking up the stairs with Satoshi following shortly after. "He's just so ordinary, and half of what he does isn't anything special. All he can do is flip a big stick in between his fingers and hope that it might land a hit."

"It's because Tori's the only person in this tournament that hasn't shown supernatural potential," Satoshi explained. "An audience like this, who can't understand fully what they're watching, instantly goes with the underdog. Tori's a favorite because he's normal, and what he does is nothing extraordinary."

"That makes sense in hindsight," I agreed. "But keep in mind that he's going against a girl who fights in a swimsuit. And apparently, the male audience would rather have a winner be someone like that. Also, who knows what could go on in Tori's head if he fights a girl like that?"

"Wouldn't affect him no matter what," Kimiko answered. "No matter what kind of appeal is put in front of Tori, he acts like a robot, and he never tires in his tasks. When he first came here it's like his life revolved around homework and school. No matter what any of us tried, he would never open to us."

"He's shy, so what?" Cassandra asked.

"Most girls actually find that a very appealing trait," Beautifly added as the other two girls glared at her.

* * *

><p>After a wait of about ten more minutes, Alice pounded on the gong once again signaling the start of the next match. Much to her chagrin, the ringing gong had less affect on our ears as opposed to earlier in the day when we would all fall over. Alice puffed her cheeks and looked on into the crowd as she made a deep breath in.<p>

"Hey, everybody, what do you say we get back to it?" she asked as the entire audience cheered. "Our next match features a parkour video documentarian. From Brooklyn, New York please welcome Flash Fyre!" she announced as I looked at the far end of the stage waiting for Blaziken to come out.

As he did, Blaziken showed no signs of seriousness in his demeanor as he walked proudly towards the battlefield. I pressed my palm to my forehead and shook my head as Beautifly was already thinking up so many different fantasies with him. I shuddered as I watched both and looked up at Alice wanting her to stop the madness.

"His opponent, someone who always wins in the courtroom, one way or another, please welcome Icarus!" she announced as I became more interested in Blaziken's opponent, Vigoroth.

The tall, lanky figure walked through the door with a business man-like composure and a tired look in his eyes. As he reached the center stage he immediately loosened his stance and hunched over with his hands hidden in his pockets. I could see the two opponents exchanging smiles as they awaited the match to begin making me think about some of the conversations I've had with Blaziken.

At the sound of the gong being rung both Pokémon charged towards each other and met in the middle of the battlefield. With Blaziken's leg outstretched and Vigoroth's arm the same, both Pokémon had managed to block each other's attack within the first five seconds of the match instantly silencing the audience. I made a large gulp as the tension given by the match had already reached me when the two broke apart and moved in the same pattern with another quick block and strike.

While the movements of both fighters were slow, they were by no means uninteresting. Neither Pokémon made known to us their power, nor did either show pride in their movements, but instead more of respect. Both made moves that were as predictable as they were unexpected; not based on the tactics themselves, but the moves didn't match the personalities of the Pokémon since I had met them.

As the two continued to fight in the center of the battlefield I could see the faintness of smiles being exchanged between the two fighters. After dodging one of Vigoroth's punches, Blaziken jumped up and made a wide kick to the side forcing Vigoroth to back away from the left. Seeing the opportunity, Blaziken quickly spun around and kicked Vigoroth across the side and to the far end of the stage. Placing his hand on the ground to create friction, Vigoroth looked up at Blaziken who made a fighting stance only to be knocked back to the opposite end of the stage just as quickly as Vigoroth was.

"You should've seen that one coming," Vigoroth said as Blaziken stuck his foot in the ground to keep from sliding. "I've only done that to you about thirty times."

"Try forty," Blaziken said in response. "Let's face it, I'm a slow learner."

"I'll say," Vigoroth agreed as the two jumped towards the center.

Before reaching the center stage, Vigoroth reached both hands into his pockets and quickly pulled them out as he collided with Blaziken. In the center, Vigoroth held Blaziken's kick back while holding two pairs of wooden knives in between his index and middle fingers, and his ring and pinky fingers. Pushing Blaziken back with one set, Vigoroth brought one pair up in an uppercut motion striking Blaziken just barely on the chin. Landing on his feet, Blaziken rubbed his chin with his forearm and made another fighting stance copied by Vigoroth.

* * *

><p>"I find this slightly pathetic," I said as I hung my head over the railing due to the light-hearted atmosphere.<p>

"I don't know, it seems like they're trying to have fun with this match," Cassandra noted. "And the fact that they seem so lax about the match makes it almost feel like a sparring match in a class. It looks like they're old friends wrestling almost."

"Actually, you hit the nail on the head," I said as the two continued to fight on stage. "The two of them are old friends from the Pokémon world. In the region that Blaziken and Vigoroth both appear in, Blaziken, in its base form, is a Pokémon given to new trainers as a start in their journey. Blaziken's trainer abandoned him early on in a large forest leaving him to the mercies of the bug Pokémon that lived there. Vigoroth, also in his base form, stayed with Blaziken until it was strong enough to fight on its own."

"So they've been friends since way back," Kimiko speculated.

"Pretty much," I affirmed. "In the Pokémon world, a Pokémon's power can often depend on his social relationship with their trainer or another Pokémon. It often acts as some kind of a support system to know that they can actually accomplish something without having to say it themselves."

"But what about ghost Pokémon, then?" Cassandra asked.

"Ghost Pokémon can have that kind of motivation, but in many cases we're driven by the desire for power," I explained. "There's no ghost Pokémon that doesn't wish to become stronger on its own; and without the help of humans for that matter. Dusknoir would always tell me that if I ever relied on humans for my strength then I would be the weakest of them all."

* * *

><p>Back on the stadium, the Pokémon continued their fight with the same recurring pattern of movements. With every slash made by Vigoroth with his wooden claws as a substitute for his real ones, Blaziken would either kick them out of the way or dodge them just barely. Despite the monotonous actions of the fighters, the audience was never truly board, and always found the near misses as exciting as the last. After blocking one of the slashes with his right foot, Blaziken swung around and struck Vigoroth across the face with a kick from his left.<p>

At the same moment, Vigoroth gripped onto Blaziken's right leg and as he fell down from the kick Blaziken went right with him. With both Pokémon lying on the ground, I was pretty much waiting for both of them to begin to burst out laughing, but neither of them did. Instead they both stayed silent, and with much more solemn faces. The atmosphere they had created began to dissipate as both Pokémon stood up and faced each other with more serious expressions.

"Where did it go?" Blaziken asked. "My satisfaction, that is?"

"I wish I knew, old friend," Vigoroth said. "Right now, it is hard to believe that there was ever a time when our brawls were enjoyable. There's no difference between us now. At one time, you were weaker than I, and that made it all the more enjoyable for you to have something to beat. And when I became weaker, I worked simply for the purpose of getting to your level."

"But now that there is no difference between us, what's the point of continuing this tournament?" Blaziken asked. "Just to give the Tori kid, the opportunity to come back in time for his match? I want to continue this match, but if there's no challenge for either of us, then what point is there to continue?"

"I agree," Vigoroth said as he made a fighting stance and dropped his pseudo-claws. "The only way to truly test the difference in our power levels is to test the one move we've worked on for years to perfect."

"I agree," Blaziken said making the same stance. "Each may have a different name, but their power is the same."

"Flash," Vigoroth started. "The winner of this has to promise to do their best to make it to the finals. Agreed?"

"I am sure that promise will be kept, just as I am sure that the power we hold is real, Icarus," Blaziken said as his entire body erupted into fire.

"Then let's finish it," Vigoroth said as his body became veiled in a purple and gold membrane. "Giga Impact!" he shouted as he charged for Blaziken.

"I accept," Blaziken said charging towards Vigoroth. "Blast Burn!"

"Two of the moves that take an entire lifetime to perfect are about to collide," I said solemnly as the other Pokémon up with us watched. "If they can pull this off, then that stage will be destroyed."

As the two Pokémon collided with each other, a shock wave rang out from between them slicing the battle field down the middle in a perfect slash. Vigoroth and Blaziken stayed perfectly motionless in their respective attacks when Vigoroth held out his fist to Blaziken.

"Flash," he began. "When I met you, you were this scared little Pokémon, who couldn't stand the sight of his own shadow. You weren't able to conjure up the slightest bit of courage to battle the bug types in the forest. But now, you've grown into a man that I can say I was proud to call 'friend.' This is your victory."

The two attacks faded out and Vigoroth landed on his back unconscious, while Blaziken stumbled on his feet and balanced himself on his knees. His normal, cheerful expression was gone as he jumped over the gap in the stage and knelt down next to Vigoroth. He smiled warmly as he stood up and raised his fist to the crowd while they all cheered.

"I will do my best to win this tournament, this I promise!" he shouted as everyone, including me, began to applaud him.

* * *

><p>After Alice had made the announcement that there would be a one hour break in between the repairs and the next round, I figured this would be the best time to look for Tori as he still wasn't even on his way. As the four of us ran down the stairs, we decided to split up and look for him going in all different directions while I searched the stands. All the while, I was thinking about this tournament as a whole.<p>

"_Half of what went on in that entire match doesn't make sense,"_ I said to myself as I looked over each seat in the audience. _"While I'm not sure about Vigoroth, Blaziken would've never broken his clam and laid back demeanor, and yet he seemed angry about something. Almost as though he still wasn't satisfied by the results. Kinda like he wanted to lose._

"_Vigoroth broke off his attack intentionally. He didn't do it with all his power. Whether he did it so Blaziken could move on, he was tired of fighting, or if he had pressing matters to attend to I'm not sure of. But Blaziken probably feels that he was cheated out of a good match with his friend. If I had to guess, in the three months since we came to the world of humans, Vigoroth has been training so he could have that battle with Blaziken, and something spooked him into throwing the match. With his power and skill, he could've easily broken a bone with those fake claws of his, and yet, for some reason he told himself it would've been better if he hadn't gone on with it. This tournament is getting way too screwy for my taste."_

After half an hour of searching the tournament arena, I found no sign of Tori, and I hadn't heard back from Cassandra, Kimiko, or Satoshi. At this point, I was beginning to feel as though Tori really was going to throw the match, and just not bother showing up when I felt a rapid tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Froslass with a look of concern on her eyes and then pointed up to the competitor's stands.

"You must be worried about him too, huh?" I asked as she nodded. "Let me ask you a question; how did you first meet Tori? And don't try to pull off the whole mute, trash. You talked to me the first day I was in Japan."

"W-Well, Tori first came in about three months ago, and I had just started working for a different sushi place," Froslass explained as he began walking back to the stands for competitors. "Unlike all the other guys that came in, and tried to hit on me, Tori didn't pay any attention to me. It was like to him, I was just another girl, and that made me feel good about myself."

"To know that you weren't a symbol to others," I speculated as she nodded.

"Anyway, I asked Tori where he lived, and he told me about the school he went to," Froslass continued. "And as life went on, Tori became a regular, and acted as a foil to everything the other men did in the restaurant. Tori's cold around the eyes, sure, but he really is the sweetest kinda guy you can meet."

"Those really aren't the adjectives you say to a guy, when you're talking about another guy," I said. "It makes it sound creepy. At any rate, what I wanted to know is, when did you two start singing at that club?"

Froslass blushed a little bit as she tilted her head downward, "Well, towards the end of January, when I first met Kazan, Tori began to show up at the sushi shop incredibly sleepy. When I asked him what was wrong he simply shook his head and told me that he was playing music for charity. After that, I just sort of started following him around, and made sure he was okay. After about three days of his starting playing with the other Pokémon, he began to get used to the late hours and everything. When he asked me to sing for them, that's when everything just sort of fell into place."

"Sounds like Tori's just one mystery after another," I said as we made it back up to the competitor's stands with still no sign of Tori anywhere.

* * *

><p>After another twenty minutes, I sat along the railing of the stands when I heard everyone else's footsteps walking up.<p>

"Let me guess," I said as they all shook their heads. "How do I do it?"

"We're just gonna have to face facts," Kimiko said. "Tori's just gonna be bum and slurp noodles while we wait for him. Especially since Alice is ready to start."

Alice tapped on the microphone several times as she held out her arms while stretching and brought everybody's chattering down to a dull roar.

"Well, now that the floor is completely rebuilt, let's get on with the next match," she said as the audience cheered. "First, from Tokyo Girl's Private School, a girl who will have every man's heart be doing all kinds of exercises. Please welcome Mizu!" she announced as Empoleon walked out of the waiting room with the sound of wolf whistles all around her. She groaned silently, but still managed to keep a smile on her face. "And now, the man responsible for the early arrival of today's event, please give a warm round of applause for Tori!" she announced as the passage from the waiting room was completely empty.

The entire audience began to whisper amongst themselves as the path stayed completely devoid of any person. After waiting five minutes, Alice let out a huge sigh of frustration and held up the mallet for the gong ready to call the match when a whirring sound came through the path. Coming closer, the sound of a spinning wheel became clearer as a bike zoomed through the passage and onto the stage before the person riding jumped off, and allowed the bike to wipeout inches from the edge of the stage. Throwing off his helmet, everyone could already guess the identity of the man riding. After standing up in his black slacks, light blue shirt, and red neck tie, the figure was met by what could be considered an angry chorus.

"TORI!" everybody shouted as he quickly stood up and held his hand in the air.

"Present," he said as though in roll call. "Sorry, I'm late folks, but I forgot that the café wasn't open today, and that's where I've been all this time."

My head began to make small twitches out of anger as a vein popped in my head with murder beginning to look like a good option. I banged my head against the railing and stumbled in my footing as I rose back up as Alice prepared the mallet for the gong.

"And…BEGIN!" she shouted as she rang the gong and Tori pulled something off of his belt and held it up in defense.

Empoleon was hesitant to attack, specifically due to the fact that Tori held a katana still sheathed in his hands. Tori's eyes stayed fixed on her as she moved from side to side while keeping her breathing constant. Both circled the stadium, making the same amount of movement between each step as Tori kept the katana facing towards her.

"Wouldn't a weapon like that be against the rules?" she asked trying to trip him up.

"Only if I were to unsheathe it," Tori explained as he pulled at the wood covering the sword. "As you can see, the scabbard is locked which takes care of legal issues with this tournament. Also, with it closed, the danger to you has been lessened by at least sixty percent."

"And how'd you come up with that figure?" Empoleon asked as she began to quicken her pace.

"I made it up," Tori said as half the audience fell over. "Tough crowd, huh?" he said looking away for a second.

"Kinda," Empoleon agreed as she charged towards him with a karate chop covered in a white membrane. _"I'll just aim for your leg, Tori. That way there won't be any actual bone damage, and if there is; I apologize."_

As the Metal Claw attack came inches from his leg, Tori instinctively lowered the sword and blocked the attack with the scabbard without looking away. Still looking at the audience, Tori slowly moved the sword from Empoleon's arm, and brought it around her head placing it on his shoulder.

"I was a good plan," Tori admitted still not looking at Empoleon. "Wait until the one with the weapon is looking away and then attack him without him knowing."

Empoleon backed away and looked at Tori surprised as he turned back to face her holding the sword on his shoulder. The look on his face showed true serenity in what he was doing, but the smile on his face border lined sinister as he held the sword in front of him in a battle stance. As Empoleon copied Tori's stance, the two entered the center of the battlefield as Empoleon attacked him bare handed while Tori simply blocked each attack with a glancing blow of the katana. My eyes stayed fixed on the match just as I had during Toxicroak's and Sableye's match.

Empoleon became quickly fatigued as Tori kept making the simple movements to block her attacks. Tori, on the other hand, showed no signs of tiring out even though he had sped here on his bike just minutes earlier.

"It's interesting," Tori said as Empoleon began to breathe harder and harder. "To think that just by conserving my movements and making them as small as possible, and having you make those wide movements would put such a difference in our energy levels."

"Why do you care so much?" Empoleon asked. "Someone like you should just stick to looking cute."

"Define 'someone like me,'" Tori said pointing the sword near her face.

"Somebody who thinks that they look cool swinging the sword as they do," she answered. "Instead, your short stature for your age just makes you seem like a stuffed animal," she explained as Tori appeared behind her with the scabbard going across her neck.

"I hate being called 'cute,'" Tori said as Empoleon fell to her knees with the scabbard still near her neck. "That word should be used for my brother, and never for me. I don't delight in hitting girls, but if I have to, I will abandon my morals. Something that you should be used to, I presume."

"What?" Empoleon said looking back at him.

* * *

><p>Up in the stands, my eyes still stayed fixed on both of them as I sighed out of depression after hearing the conversation between the two fighters. But what made me more depressed was the fact that Tori was as insightful as he was. Beginning with everything he had said to Empoleon to his ability to fight with a simple weapon against an opponent like her.<p>

"Tori obviously knows more than he's letting on," Satoshi said as I nodded. "Not only does he show an ability to fight on instinct with this kind of opponent, but he also knows what to say to make them question their thinking."

"More than that," I added. "Tori is able to discern any emotion, and exploit it as his own strength without showing the emotion himself, and thusly, makes himself appear invulnerable. But even more than that, Tori is looking into her past, through her eyes."

* * *

><p>"They say the eyes are the window to the soul," Tori said turning Empoleon around so she faced him. "Let's try that, shall we?" he asked as he kept his face inches from hers. "I see many things, but this is only speculation. I see abandonment. As I said, it wasn't something you were new to. But before that, I see joy; I see joy between you and another person who travelled with you as you grew. I see separation; I see a wedge being driven between you and this person as you both grow, and you realize that the other is not needed."<p>

"Please stop it," Empoleon said quietly as tears began to produce in her eyes.

"Then I see the abandonment as you go your separate ways," Tori continued ignoring her plea. "I see redemption in a figure who promised you security, but at the same time became your jailer."

"Stop it!" Empoleon shouted as she broke out of Tori's grip and backed away near the edge of the stage. "Please, just leave me alone."

"Emotions can be powerful tools," Tori said placing the sword on the ground next to his bike. "Especially against someone like you."

"What?" she asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Someone who lets emotions rule their life," Tori said plainly. "I do not know what you people are, but as I can see, I am the only one here not able to use supernatural power. However, I believe that it gives me some sort of advantage. If you'd like to prove me wrong, then strike me down right now. And make sure you do it, as though you were ready to kill, or I will reveal more."

"No!" Empoleon shouted as she held out her hands with copious amounts of water forming in between them. "Hydro Cannon!" she shouted as the water in between her hands shot towards Tori much like a fire hose.

"As I said," Tori began. "Emotions can be powerful tools, depending on which side you're on," he said from behind Empoleon. "Especially, when they blind some. I had fun today," he said striking her on the neck instantly knocking her out. "I will acknowledge one thing; you never gave up. You never allowed the memories of your friend to cloud your judgment during this battle, you only allowed my words to do the work."

As she fell, Tori caught her, and hoisted her up on his back. He smiled as the audience wasn't sure what had happened, but they knew that somebody had won. I was the first to begin the applause, and soon the rest followed as I stopped midway while the rest continued to applaud Tori. Alice declared him the winner, and asked everybody to give him another round of applause for helping Empoleon.

"_Tori,"_ I said to myself as he walked into the waiting room towards the infirmary. _"When I first came here, I thought you were a rogue, then I learned you were a knight, and now I know you to be something very different. You are special kind of person, one who looks out for others while still accomplishing his goal, that kind of person can't be found in leaders, or those in charge, or even those who command the attention. You are truly a hero."_

* * *

><p>Duskull played by Nightfall00<p>

Beautifly played by Penny from Heaven14

Vigoroth played by XiXIXiX

Blaziken played by comicfan616

Empoleon played by Timberstar

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty three completed, after two months. I apologize for the late update, but I wasn't sure where my head was. Well, at any rate, I was able to get this story back up, and I hope to finish the Japan Arc before I take another <em>long<em> hiatus. Again I apologize.

Chapter twenty four preview: The next battles are between Swampert and Aggron, and then to Glaceon and Dewgong. Meanwhile, Duskull begins having thoughts about how he can get to the bottom of this faster than just sitting around and waiting for somebody to admit to it. Next time: Fighting with Humans, Battles 13 and 14


	25. Fighting with Humans, Battles 13 and 14

Here's chapter twenty four of my Pokémon Gijinka story. I feel really good about the writing I'm doing, and especially well since I finally broke my record for the number of chapters for any of my stories. For the record, I don't count the prologue as an actual chapter. At any rate, this chapter is the second to last in the first round, and soon we will learn who the rogue is. Also, keep in mind that I will not be writing a chapter for more rounds after the last of the first round until the final match which has already been decided since before this arc began. In reality, there're only about eight chapters of the Japan Arc left.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 24: Fighting with Humans; Battles 13 and 14<p>

"_Humans; what are you capable of?"_ I said to myself as Tori helped Empoleon over to the infirmary. _"Is it that you're able to gain the same skills as us, or is there just something specific to people like you, Tori?"_

As he disappeared, I could see Tori flashing me a smile as though he were interested in talking to me. There were many things I wanted to talk about, but the truth obviously was going to be hard to explain. However, I knew that if I had to talk about the truth about myself, then he would have to explain things about himself. Then again, Tori did talk about the fact that he really didn't care what we were, and that he had his own reason for entering this tournament, so chances were he didn't care.

"He bothers you, doesn't he?" Satoshi asked as I looked all around me to find us to be the only two in the stands.

"Kinda," I said leaning back over the railing. "Where's everyone else?"

"Cassie and Kimiko went to the infirmary to talk to Tori, and check on everyone else," he explained. "The other Pokémon went down to the waiting rooms if they were in the next rounds, and the others went to do their own thing."

"So it'll just be me and you for a while, huh?" I asked as Satoshi chuckled and nodded.

Needless to say, the silence seemed slightly uncomfortable, but even more so given what had happened minutes before with Tori, and how he made Empoleon break down emotionally. The audience shared my feelings, as the conversations around them had been lowered to a dull whisper still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. I wanted to talk to Satoshi about it, but I just couldn't bring it up in the right words. While I struggled to find them, Satoshi turned to me, and shook his head while snickering.

"You really are bad with words, aren't you?" he asked as I reacted in silence. "But Tori provided a bit of guidance in this area. He said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, and in your eyes I can see confusion. You want to know how Tori is able to make access to skills that seem only possible to Pokémon, am I right?"

"Essentially," I admitted. "I've made several checks on him because of all the discrepancies, and every time I draw a blank. It's almost as though, Tori is some kind of wizard, or some other kind of supernatural being."

"Detectives are known to be questioners, and they work tirelessly to prove their theories, or accept new ones based on the evidence," Satoshi explained. "If all the results about Tori were negative, there's no reason to suspect him of anything. But, if you had the opportunity to do the research, you would learn that some people train their whole lives to use a spiritual force that lives inside us called Chi."

"Chi?" I asked.

"According to the teachings of any martial art, Chi is a force that dwells inside humans, and after enough training, a person can begin to expel according to their will," Satoshi said. "In the past, especially in places like Japan and China, those who can master the arts of Chi manipulation have been seen as some of the strongest physically, mentally, and emotionally."

"So you're saying I shouldn't be suspicious of the skills Tori has?" I asked as the man next to me shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm just saying that it's best to do all the research you can," Satoshi answered beginning to walk away from the stands. "If you let Tori occupy your mind, then your judgment becomes clouded, and you won't be able to do your original job."

As Satoshi left the stands, most likely to meet with his daughter, I thought about what he said, and how I shouldn't let Tori's performance make my decisions on things sloppy, and with reasonable doubt. The problem was I couldn't stop thinking about Tori; since I had come to this academy, Tori has been one mystery after another, and I doubted that that notion would change until the resolution of all this.

* * *

><p>Thinking back on Tori made me remember everything I had watched him do to test my theories; I watched him make his breakfast, I followed him to that club, I watched him give all of his paycheck to that orphanage, and I saw him be the most cryptic friend I had ever had, and that includes Absol. But my thoughts really had to wait, but I couldn't place them in the back of my head when Alice sounded the gong to start the next match.<p>

"Well, talk about exciting," she started. "Who would've thought that Tori had so much potential in him? Now moving right along; let's get to the next round. Our next competitor is from the large country of China, and according to her dossier, she has to be in top physical shape for her duties as a life guard. Please welcome, Azu!"

My eye averted to the stage for a moment to see the Swampert from the prelims stepping out with a chorus of cheers. My head was filled with thoughts of disbelief at how quickly people can forget about what they see. But maybe, I was dwelling on it too much.

"Our next competitor; from the distant land of India, please give a warm welcome to Maris!" Alice called out as I changed my field of vision towards the opposite end of the stage to see the imposing figure of the female Aggron.

The differences between the two Pokémon were as obvious as a tree from a drinking straw. For one thing, their relative size; Aggron must've had at least one foot on Swampert if not more. Another was the general personalities for both Pokémon; Swampert just seemed so much more relaxed than Aggron who just had a tense atmosphere.

After flashing Aggron a wide smile, Swampert slumped in her posture, slowly dimmed her eyes, and placed both hands into her sweatshirt's pockets. As soon as the gong was rung, Aggron placed herself in a battle stance with her helmet, placed under her arm, flying through the air, and fitting perfectly on her head. The two spikes of hair on the front of her head fit perfectly through the helmet's holes and instantly sharpened into real horns made of steel.

Swampert on the other hand, kept the same look on her face even while Aggron began to charge her. After Aggron had come a few feet from her, Swampert jumped up with her eyes still open slightly, and looked down at Aggron with her back facing the steel Pokémon. As she fell, and could see Aggron waiting for her with another attack, Swampert quickly brought her hand out of the pocket and made a chopping motion downward striking Aggron across the back.

"_Brick Break, just like she used last time,"_ I said to myself. _"Aggron had a disadvantage against her enough as it was, but a move like that deals 400% of the normal damage ratio. However, Aggron aren't known for keeling over as soon as they hit a road block…or when a road block hits them. Before the tournament started, I checked the stats on everyone in it, and found that Aggron, in this world, currently weighs 350 lbs, with only a small percent of it being fat. But even then, only a small part of that weight is her muscle mass. The rest of that weight is in her bones."_

The match seemed to have stopped in the same position as both Pokémon had been when Swampert had attacked Aggron. Instead of faltering in her stance like many would have, Aggron turned to face her opponent and gripped onto the arm that was up against her back. Flipping Swampert over her head, Aggron watched her flop onto the ground near the edge of the stage.

Swampert held her head as she looked up just in time to see Aggron charging at her again, but at a much faster pace. Opening her eyes slightly out of surprise, Swampert made a small oval shape with her hands and breathed through it producing an Ice Beam attack aimed at the ground. As the wood stage began to freeze, Swampert stumbled while standing up, and watched as Aggron began to slip. Forced to end her attack, Aggron pushed her foot into the stage and stopped her movement. Swampert slid on the ground more natural with her arms folded up against her neck with another smile and her eyes all the way closed.

"It's kinda fun, ice skating," she said as she began to slide in circles around Aggron. "But it does get boring after a while," she finished as she pushed her feet against the ice and stopped sliding. "I wonder if India's a fun place to be."

"Are you trying to make pleasant conversation during a fight?" Aggron asked angrily as she began to pull on her foot to release it from the hole it had made. "Because if you are, you're doing a lousy job of it."

"Nasty," Swampert said as she folded her arms and looked away from her. "And yeah, so far this conversation has been more fun than the battle."

"Why do you keep talking about 'fun'?" Aggron asked as she released her leg and began to breathe deeper. "A fight isn't supposed to be that way."

"Man, what a buzz kill," Swampert said sliding on the ice again around Aggron. "In a battle, it's supposed to be serious, and all that jazz, but if you can make it fun, then why not?"

I turned to Aggron expecting to find an angered face, but found a surprised face with a tear forming in her eye. Quickly wiping it away, Aggron turned her face away from her opponent who seemed more interested in the sky than in the battle with her tired face. Making another lap around Aggron, Swampert showed her another wide smile making her opponent turn away with a slight blush.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," she said as Swampert looked at her unconvinced. "A battle is supposed to be a serious competition of strength that leaves one more hardened than when they started. You're ideals are weak, and they don't suit me."

Swampert chuckled as she changed her course and headed for Aggron who looked up early enough to see her coming. Seeing Swampert prepare another Brick Break attack, Aggron lowered her head and pushed off the icy ground and shot like a rocket towards Swampert. Unable to dodge quick enough, Swampert attempted to use the Brick Break attack to block the attack, but to no avail. As she was blasted back, Swampert still kept the same smile on her face as a face flashed in front of Aggron.

"_Head Smash is a powerful move, and given that Aggron can use Rock Head to get rid of any recoil damage it makes one more dangerous," _I said to myself as I saw Swampert struggling to get to her feet while wiping her chin with her forearm. _"As for Swampert, she shouldn't be able to take so much of this, and yet she's constant in that smile of hers. Why is Aggron so troubled by it?"_

I looked down at Aggron to see more tears falling from her face, and then I watched Swampert taking advantage of the opportunity as she charged towards Aggron.

"_Both Pokémon are able to battle on the ice which is a very interesting quality,"_ I said to myself as Swampert began to slide along a path straight to the preoccupied Aggron. _"They use the ice in different, but essentially similar methods. Aggron used it earlier to increase her ambient speed in using Head Smash and Swampert uses it as an evasive tactic."_

Preparing another Brick Break attack, Swampert looked at Aggron who could barely see past her tears, and began to get agitated as she put her other hand behind her. Shooting another Ice Beam from it, and creating a small pile of ice behind her, Swampert began to gain speed as she jumped up swinging her Brick Break attack across Aggron's face.

"Snap out of it already!" she shouted with her eyes fully open and making a hard connection with the underside of Aggron's helmet. "I thought you said that fun had nothing to do with battle!" she shouted as though reprimanding her opponent.

Aggron fell the ground rubbing her cheek, and looked up at Swampert who had a much more serious expression than before. Wiping the last of her tears, Aggron stood up and stomped on the ground breaking the ice around her, and taking a deep breath in. Releasing her breath, a stream of fire came out of Aggron's mouth and impacted with the broad side of Swampert's body. Flying across the stage, Swampert pushed herself against the small glacier she made earlier, and broke it with her Brick Break attack. Using Ice Beam, Swampert began to shoot the shards of ice towards Aggron who began charging at Swampert.

"I will not be counted as weak!" she shouted as she came inches from Swampert who gave her another smile and jumped back.

Placing both of her hands behind her, Swampert pushed the water all around the stage to create a large tidal wave. Aggron looked up at the Surf attack and began to feel nostalgic as she allowed herself to be attacked. As the wave engulfed the stage, Aggron slid across the defrosting wood with a large smile on her face while Swampert slid across the remaining ice next to her.

"You remind me so much of him," Aggron said. "That smile, mentality that he tried to break, and that finishing move. All those moves used by my husband, Rhyperior, make me feel as though I'm still with him."

"I left because I wanted more of a thrill out of life, but I can tell you didn't come here because you wanted to," Swampert said as Aggron smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I came here because my husband was chosen especially for this mission, but he was injured so I took it upon myself to accept this mission," Aggron explained. "If we were to be separated, then I figured that it would be best to have myself come so he could get the care he needed. Azu, I am happy to say that this battle has ended with your win," she said shaking her opponent's hand with the gong ending the battle.

* * *

><p>I was still left unimpressed by what I saw, as Tori's battle still had me thinking about everything he hadn't yet told us. But I had to admit that the battle displayed for us had been an entertaining one. Both Pokémon were led to the infirmary, and once again I was left alone with nothing but my thoughts.<p>

Why had Tori's and Toxicroak's battles excited me more than the other eleven I had seen? Why had those two caught my eye rather than anyone else in this tournament, especially given that I've barely given Abomasnow so much as a sideways glance in terms of my thought processes? Why had my other two rogue suspects; Abomasnow and Gallade, fallen off my radar? As a detective, it should be basic knowledge that I should never overlook anything, and that everything has a place in a crime. But why had my knack been lacking ever since I came to Japan? First, I think that Tori is a Pokémon, and then I mess that up. Second, I begin to believe that this tournament will be the only way to get to the rogue, and yet, I'm only learning about other Pokémon's painful pasts. Third, no matter how many ways I look at it, all signs of the rogue point to Toxicroak, but I wasn't willing to accept that as truth just yet.

For many detectives, we have something called a little voice, or a guide to tell us what we should be looking. Only, for the past month, my little voice wasn't talking; it was a coarse whisper, and too quiet for me to make it out. In the past, my little voice had been telling me stuff about how I had been wrong in many things; my decision to run away given my newfound knowledge of my curse, my attempts to lie to myself about my curse, and my choices to not trust people right off the bat. But when I first met Toxicroak, my little voice wasn't just talking…it was shouting. But then again, just because it was loud doesn't mean I could understand it. For all I know, it may have been warning me to stay away from him, and to not consider him, or it was tell me that my job had just become a heck of a lot easier.

* * *

><p>I decided to take a walk to clear my head, and when I made it outside I found the other competitors, spectators, and commentators that were Pokémon all outside the infirmary. I pushed my way through to find Sableye which a long red mark across his face. His breathing was fast paced as was his heartbeat.<p>

"You okay, bud?" I asked as he struggled to get his eyes open.

"Yeah, you kidding? I feel great," he lied as he tried to sit up.

"Who did this to you?" I asked as he shook his head and chuckled.

"You don't have to be a psychic, detective, or a soothsayer, as I call myself, to know that it was the rogue who did this to me," Sableye admitted. "I didn't get a good look at his face, but he left this," he said handing me a note.

"_If you continue in your mission, Sableye may not live to sell another watch,"_ I read to myself as I looked at Sableye and sighed.

"Don't worry," Sableye said chuckling. "I've seen the future; I see myself, you, Zoroark, Sneasel, and somebody else all smiling. I'll be fine, so you go do your job."

I nodded reluctantly and told Cassandra and Kimiko to keep an eye on him as I walked back to the stands with a shadowy aura all around my body in anger. I made a promise then and there to catch whoever did this, and to make sure they pay.

* * *

><p>As I returned to the stands, I looked up to see it still completely empty except for the one figure standing alone and leaning over the edge. Walking closer, the figure turned to me, and showed me his face with the same smile he flashed to me a while ago.<p>

"Tori," I said greeting him.

"Itzal," he said in return. "So I heard somebody broke into the infirmary and really roughed up that Keeps guy. He gonna be okay?" he asked tying the sword locked in its scabbard to his belt.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine, but why do you decide now to come up here?" I asked as I looked at the sword suspiciously. "I mean, it's as if you didn't care about the tournament."

"With the prize money this event is giving out, I'll go with it even if I have to wear a banana suit," Tori said as he stretched out his back.

"Why do you want the prize money? You're parents are pretty much loaded already, right?" I asked as he chuckled with a nod.

"Yeah, but I donate a lot to this orphanage a few blocks away, and a ten million yen sure would buy a lot of lunches," he explained. "Plus, I feel like I owe something back to them, after what they did for me."

"And that would be?" I asked leading him on.

"Sorry, Sherlock," he said as I snapped me fingers. "I know the way you work. You're an amateur gumshoe, so you like to ask these kinds of questions and find some perverse pleasure out of it."

"I wouldn't say amateur," I said in return as both of us began to chuckle. "So where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I learned based on necessity," Tori answered. "Back when I was younger, I had to fight off people everyday just so that I wouldn't be wrongly accused on something that I don't feel comfortable talking about."

"Sure," I said still not satisfied, but was happy Tori was in a place I could keep an eye on him. "Looks like the next match is starting," I said as Tori looked down at the stage.

* * *

><p>"Hey everybody, what do you say we get the next match underway?" she asked the audience as they all cheered while Tori and I gave a slow clap. "To begin, from the distant continent of Europe, she's a model turned athlete turned martial artist turned battler for this tournament. Put your hands together for Diamond Lunar Wind!" she announced as the audience cheered as though at a music event.<p>

Glaceon walked out on the stage with a strut in her step as though on a catwalk, and posing with every few steps. I looked to my side to see no explicit reaction from Tori, and found myself believing what Kimiko had said earlier about him not being stimulated by any kind of appeal.

"Next, a marine biologist student from Okinawa, and part of this school's sister academy's research program. Here comes Fubuki!" she announced as I turned to look at the other side of the stage to see Dewgong's figure walking out of the waiting room. "Fighters ready? And begin!" Alice shouted as she hit the gong.

Dewgong quickly went into a martial arts stance and saw a small movement from Glaceon. Unsure what she did, Dewgong lowered her stance when something struck her on the forehead. Falling over backwards, Dewgong looked to her side to see a small chunk of ice hit the ground and then shatter revealing a small coin encased within.

"Quite the interesting tactic," Tori commented as I looked to him for an answer. "While I can't remember the name, the fighting style is literally a coin toss, or any kind of projectile sent to the opponent. The idea is that you transfer your Chi energy into the item and flick it with your thumb. True masters can use as many fifty coins at once."

"Is this move capable of knocking someone out with one strike?" I asked as he shook his head side to side.

"Fubuki moved her head down slightly," Tori noted as Dewgong jumped back up. "While it was a slight movement, sometimes that's all it takes to evade that kind of assault. But, chances are Diamond will continue in the same attack pattern."

Just as Tori predicted, Glaceon began to send in a barrage of the same tactic. Tori was right only about the technique itself, as for the Chi part, that was sorely lacking in insight. It was based on a move called Ice Shard that is known to strike first, Glaceon placed the coin inside to mask the fact of her, for lack of better term, species.

Maneuvering through the barrage, Dewgong ran up to Glaceon and appeared inches from her face when her opponent simply placed her thumb underneath Dewgong. Glaceon smiled slightly as Dewgong gritted her teeth.

"I'm not limited by distance," Glaceon said as she flicked her thumb upward launching an Ice Shard up.

Recoiling back with just enough time to spare, Dewgong took a deep breath in and released a multi-colored beam from her exhale. Any of us could tell that it was an Aurora Beam, but it wasn't the best move to use against a pure ice type. Taking the move as it was, Glaceon smiled as she prepared an entire stack of coins and began to fire them rapidly with her thumb.

"_Aurora Beam is by no means a powerful ice type move," _I said to myself as Tori kept the same stoic face next to him, but anyone could tell that he was trying to make sense of it. _"But I don't think that Dewgong is using it for the power, but for something much more analytical."_

The barrage continued as Dewgong did her best to dodge, but couldn't help being struck several times by the frozen yen pieces. In reality, both Pokémon continued to use the same moves respectively as Dewgong continued to use Aurora Beam to deflect the projectiles and to attack Glaceon. After nearly ten minutes of the same, but invigorating, tactics Glaceon ceased in her barrage and jumped back to the edge of the battlefield and made a deep inhale.

"_Oh, this can't be good,"_ I said to myself as I could see the air around Glaceon begin to freeze. _"Even though the moves were effective, I know that Glaceon isn't the kind of Pokémon to take things slowly."_

The air around Glaceon began to turn to ice crystals visible even to the people on the opposite side of the stage. Taking a final deep breath, Glaceon smiled at Dewgong and made a large exhale with her arms outspread releasing a Blizzard attack. Dewgong didn't dodge, but instead moved to the back of the stadium and placed her arms outward in front of her.

"Try anything you want, chances are it won't work," Glaceon said as the ice storm began to get very close to her opponent.

"True," Dewgong agreed. "Blizzard accesses one hundred and twenty percent of your power and sends it straight to the opponent. In many cases, the Pokémon that becomes the victim doesn't leave with less than frostbite, but the key term is 'many,' which is not the same as 'all.' My entire life has been built around the idea that I never had to do anything, that everything would happen by itself, and I couldn't stand it. I learned that if wanted to learn your destiny…" she began as the Blizzard attack engulfed her.

Glaceon looked inside the storm to see Dewgong struggling to even stand, but still did nothing to help her as though there was more that was to happen. Everyone, myself included, waited for the storm to pass, and as it did Dewgong made a strong step out of the storm with a ring made of water surrounding her.

"…You have to make it yourself," Dewgong finished.

"_Aqua Ring, huh?"_ I thought as the wounds all throughout Dewgong's body became healed. _"A move that slowly, but surely heals a Pokémon's wounds with purified water. The physiology of all water Pokémon is based on the idea that they can be healed by the purification effects of water. Dewgong lived in a peaceful village of her evolutionary junior, and of another Pokémon family that was based on the ideals of letting life happen to them. Dewgong was a very active Pokémon, and for one, hated that ideology. She simply rebelled against those ideals and decided to become the fierce battler she is, but at a price. It took away her opinion of everything. Her speech is filled with only facts, and nothing relies on her own opinion."_

"Bring it on," Glaceon said despite the serious look on Dewgong's face.

As both Pokémon made basic martial arts stances, the two waited for nearly a minute before speeding towards the center of the stage and were locked in fierce hand to hand combat. Neither made any cheap moves and both showed the other the respect that they deserved as fighters by only making moves that would only strike in appropriate places.

Glaceon made the first move out of their sequence and made a sweeping motion with her kick knocking Dewgong off her feet. Dewgong scrambled to her feet as Glaceon showed no hesitation in her constant attacks against her. Making another sweep kick, Glaceon also made a quick side kick to Dewgong's stomach and forced her off the edge of the stadium. As Dewgong disappeared into the water, the audience all looked around anxiously for her resurfacing.

"It's over," Tori said as he slumped in his stance on the railing.

"Is it?" I asked as he nodded.

"Diamond has been bested," Tori answered when Dewgong jumped out of the water with a glowing orb in her hands.

Pushing her hand forward, Dewgong's power morphed the ball into a pulsation of water that struck Glaceon in the back who had barely turned around. Glaceon landed on her stomach and slid along the polished wood as she coughed while pushing herself up. Looking up, Glaceon saw Dewgong above her, and chuckled as she lifted her hand in the air.

"I forfeit," she declared as the audience gasped, and a loud crash was heard in the waiting room.

"_What the heck?"_ I asked myself as Dewgong slung Glaceon on her shoulder and helped her to the infirmary wing.

"_With the completion of this battle I am left with so many questions,"_ I said to myself as Tori walked to the back of the stands and lied back on the bench. _"Who really is the rogue? Who really attacked Sableye? Who was so angry with Glaceon's decision to forfeit? And what will this tournament reveal about our fighters? Until next time."_

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty four complete. I bet some of you were scared I would go back on hiatus, huh? Well with this chapter, I have one more chapter of straight battles, and this one promises to be much more interesting. I am planning a new story, so stay tuned to see what comes from Nightfall Enterprises.<p>

Chapter twenty five preview: The last two battles of the first round at last, but will there even be a battle for Catastrophe/Absol since his opponent has gone off on a crusade for the real reason he entered this tournament. And Sableye is place in even more danger as the rogue attempts to strike again. Next time: Fighting with Humans: Battles 15 and 16.


	26. Fighting with Humans, Battles 15 and 16

Here's chapter twenty five of my Pokémon Gijinka story. I'm finally at the last two battles in the first round of this tournament, and then things will start to heat up as the rogue makes his first appearance. Will Sableye be alright? Or will the future be changed? For the record, the first part of this chapter will be placed into Keeps/Sableye's perspective. When it changes back to Itzal/Duskull's I will let you know. For those of you haven't noticed, I will not be broadcasting the owners of OCs just to keep me from having one more thing to do. But whenever a new OC is introduced I will credit the author.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 25: Fighting with Humans, Battles 15 and 16<p>

(Sableye's POV)

I could hear the shouts outside on the tournament grounds, and the gong had been rung signaling the end of the match. I looked outside the curtain where the shadows on the outside began shifting in preparation for another incoming patient. Ever since this tournament began I found myself having more and more painful visions that had the same image. But let's face it; my visions aren't exactly in HD, if you know what I mean. To my right bedside were the two girls who really had a thing for Itzal; Cassandra and Kimiko.

"_You're a lucky man, Itzal,"_ I said to myself with tears in my eyes. _"To have two cuties such as these after you like rabid Carvahna, it's enough to make any man jealous. And what's more, one of their fathers has already approved of you."_

I looked to the other side back at the curtains to see the small figure of the Glaceon model that had caught my eye several times during the day. I smiled at the thought of being close to so many females, but was feeling a twinge in my heart at the other thought of not being able to do anything in my current condition. About five minutes after Diamond had been brought in I could hear loud footsteps approaching.

"What were you thinking getting beaten like that?" a voice outside shouted angrily as Diamond began to rouse from her sleep. "You know how much of a score I have to settle with you!"

"Please, Derek-kun, this isn't the place for an argument," I heard a nurse say as a couple of security guards tried to restrain the boy that all of us knew as the Pokémon Abomasnow.

"Let me go!" he shouted as he pushed both of them off prompting five others to jump on. "What do I have left to fight in this tournament?" he asked as I began to watch his shadowed figure fight off the men.

"That is enough," a calmer voice said as he slashed through the air with a feather. "Do you believe your own personal agenda to be more important than the safety of this girl?"

The voice had come from the Absol people knew as Catastrophe, and I could tell he wasn't happy. Part of that might have stemmed from the fact that he was supposed to be battling against Derek in a few minutes. I had known him as an Absol for a few years before we were sent here by Arceus, and I can tell you now that anything that goes against what he feels is put on a list of things to be corrected, and not in a good way.

"I suggest that you calm down and reflect on your actions, and think more about where you are currently," he said placing the feather back in his hat. "If your own concerns are more important than the honor you would find on the battlefield, then feel free to sulk like the pathetic fighter you are."

Derek was still on the ground when his body snapped and swung around with his arm extended. Blocking his punch, Catastrophe looked at Derek face to face, and both had frozen in their positions. Derek turned his head back at the girl who was sleeping soundly, and walked out of the infirmary peacefully, but I could tell he still had convictions from the way he walked.

"What's with big boy over there?" Kimiko asked as I turned to face her.

"When Derek lived as an Abomasnow, his family was under the rule of Diamond and her family," I explained as the two girls gave me their full attention. "Needless to say, when the reign of Diamond's family began to crumble and everything in that region went chaotic; Derek's family was of the many to suffer. I talked to him earlier and he said the only reason he came here was to get even with Diamond, and now that he can't he feels cheated out of his entire raison d'être."

"How pathetic," I sinister whisper sounded from deep in the shadows in the corner of the room. "Coming here for simple revenge. It seems becoming human has dulled his cerebral abilities."

Cassie and Kimiko looked to the shaded area, but saw nothing but a darkened figure with a short rod shaped object in his hands. The figure's body was completely in the shadows and thus couldn't be discerned as anyone positively. I rubbed my cheek where I had struck, and smiled with a sinister smile probably matching the rogue in front of us.

"Cassie, Kimiko-chan," I started as both girls turned back to face me. "Would you please give me and my friend some time alone? There are things we need to talk about that aren't for human ears."

"Are you sure, Keeps?" Cassie asked as I nodded with a wide smile. "Well then, we'll tell Itzal."

"You will do no such thing," I said with a quick snap in my voice. "Itzal doesn't need to know about this yet. When the time comes everything that he needs to know will be revealed."

The girls slowly walked out of the infirmary, and in the privacy of the temporary ICU the rogue placed the rod on the ground as a walking stick. He stayed unwillingly to walk out of the cover the shadow offered him. Clacking the stick on the ground with each step, he walked around the room with a smile on his face.

"If you were going to kill me, then could you do it quickly," I said as he stopped walking right behind me. "I told Itzal a terrible lie that I'd rather not have to face him about."

"Your lie was too obvious," the rogue said pointing the stick towards me. "You said you saw it in the future. While you have that power, you can't conjure them up whenever you feel like it."

"But some people believed me," I said calmly. "Itzal for one, both the humans taking care of me, and more importantly; you," I said as the rogue flinched out of surprise. "Otherwise you wouldn't be worrying about it. Instead you took my threat of Itzal's finding you seriously, and tried to prevent a fabricated destiny."

"You talk too much," he said bringing the rod above his head ready to attack. "And I'd like to put a stop to it."

As he brought the weapon down, I smiled and caught the wooden rod running my hands over the grooves along the body. Pulling it back, the rogue jumped over me and landed in the shaded area in front of me. Holding the weapon in a stabbing position, the rogue charged me too fast to discern any facial features, but those didn't concern me as much. I moved a few inches from my position and allowed the blunt object to pass in between my chest and arm. I gripped onto the weapon, and looked up to find that the room was empty and the weapon gone.

"I've battled you before, I know all your tactics," I said into the darkness. "And as you are, there is no way you can come up with anything new. You just can't teach an old dog new tricks, as humans say."

"While that may be true," the rogue said. "I am not exactly a dog, am I? I'm not some slobbering animal interested only in its next meal. I am something much more powerful."

"Don't think I don't know that," I said as I lowered my head when the rogue's weapon slashed just above it. "But keep in mind; every Pokémon has a weakness."

"In that case," the rogue said with his form coming out of the darkness, but still not showing his face. "Let's find yours," he said quietly as he charged me with another stab of his weapon.

This time, I flipped on the headboard of the bed and jumped into the air in a dodge of the attack. The rogue jumped onto the bed, and rebounded straight to where I was in the air, and hit me across my abdomen. I gave a quick cough and fell to the ground on my knees when the rod was brought down to my face. I looked up in an instant, and the rod was brought up to my chin flipping me onto my back.

"You're a mean person, you know that?" I said.

"That's the best you can come up with?" he asked straightening his tie. "I commit a crime even more despicable than attacking a legendary Pokémon without cause, and the word you use to describe me is 'mean'?"

"Um, yeah?" I said not sure, and felt a strong burn of pain against my cheek as the rogue struck me across the face with his weapon.

"Why aren't you telling that Sherlock wannabe Duskull?" the rogue asked. "I was looking forward to mopping the floor with his sorry body as well."

"A little creepy, but I feel that when Duskull goes to bring you in, it will be during the final match," I said. "If you make it that far."

The rogue flinched and struck me again and placed his foot on my arm. Pressing down harder, the rogue sharpened his eyes on me, I can tell I offended, but that was half the fun of this entire situation. Making a swift movement of my leg, I kicked upwards and hit the rogue in between his legs as he cringed slightly and fell to the ground in a heap hidden still in shadows.

"Since coming here, I've learned that that specific part of the body is one of the most vulnerable," I explained. "Just don't ask me how I know that."

"No, I think I know," the rogue said as he had already healed and jumped behind me and swung the weapon across my back.

I turned around just in time to protect my back, but not my face again as the wood scraped across it. As I fell to the ground, the rogue sat, perched on my hospital bed with his eyes staring deep into mine, and simply chuckled as he placed the rod aside my face.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," he said as I chuckled in kind.

"No, it's your loss," I said as I held up a pocket watch from inside my coat. "Power Gem!" I shouted as the twelve roman numerals began to shine and shoot a barrage of tiny crystals at the rogue.

"Again," the rogue said in front of my body while the barrage battered the support beams on the bed. "It is you who have fallen," he finished while swinging the wooden rod across my neck.

I cringed and began to lose consciousness as I fell against the bed with the rogue walking back into the shadows. I narrowed my eyes on his form, and I chuckled as his name ran through my head a million times. _"Why did it have to be you, H-?" _I asked myself as I fell to the ground.

The last thing I remember was the horrified shriek of the nurse as she walked in to see my battered body, and then all I began to see were shapes and then darkness.

* * *

><p>(Duskull's POV)<p>

The battle between Abomasnow and Absol really wasn't going at a real fast pace. It was mostly the two talking in between hits about how Abomasnow wanted only the revenge against Glaceon, and how Absol would reprimand him for that. After Cassandra and Kimiko had come back up, along with much of the rest of the Pokémon, they told me that Abomasnow had a little scene in the infirmary.

"Somehow I expected as much," I said as I thought back on it.

On the battlefield, Abomasnow was on the offensive with large attacks punching continual holes in the polished beams. Absol simply dodged back and forth, and never stayed in one place for too long to give his opponent an opening. As the battle continued, my thoughts about Abomasnow being the rogue I was looking for dimmed all the more. In my opinion, he had become a side character in this tournament, but with his own story to tell. Not that I cared.

Ever since Tori had left the tournament stands to check on the classroom, Toxicroak had been the only one I had any thoughts for. He was standing in the back like he always had since the beginning, and would always chuckle when he watched the matches. But ever since he came back from wherever, he had a different glimmer in his eyes; accomplishment.

* * *

><p>Back on the battlefield, Abomasnow had cornered Absol towards the edge of the stage with his fist bared with the stance making them look even heavier. He gritted his teeth and swung his arms above his head, and threw them down when he felt two hands on his wrists. Abomasnow looked forward to see Absol having no problem in holding the ice Pokémon's limbs. As Abomasnow tried to break free, Absol only tightened his grip on his arms.<p>

"Anger," Absol started as Abomasnow stared down at him. "An emotion brought on only by when we think that there's only one way to get things done. You are one of the many Pokémon who came to a distant world, but you were the only one with a clear goal. You wanted revenge against a person whom you pegged as the source of your problems."

"As if you're any better," Abomasnow said as he relaxed his arms. "You came to act as that Duskull's guardian because everyone knew he was unstable from the start. Every Pokémon knows that when he goes into a cursed state only a great power can get him to stop. And you, with you silly pride, thought you were that great power."

"_That's probably the most words he's ever said in a sentence,"_ I said to myself as I thought on his words a little more. _"Am I really that unstable? The first time I was influenced by the curse, Cofagrigus had to use a move he inherited from this world, and the second took Cassandra with simply her fist. Part of me thinks that Cassandra has more to offer to our cause than I first thought."_

I averted my eye back to the stage and saw Absol second guessing himself. I shook my head as Abomasnow break out of his grip and bash his arm on the ground. The ground in front of him instantly tore apart in a green aura that travelled to the dark type in front of him. Absol looked up with only enough time to see the attack, but nothing more. As he flew across the stage, Absol closed his eyes with a smile while I perceived something slightly different in his demeanor.

"Why would he be happy about losing?" I asked as Blaziken placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Absol lived his life where if he lost it meant that he had failed in his mission," he explained. "For the first time, he can lose with no effects to his mission."

"And what was that?" I asked.

"To help people," Blaziken said as Abomasnow walked away with a warmer smile on his face.

* * *

><p>After both competitors had been taken to the infirmary for their injuries, the cleanup crew began their fast work on the stage as I walked around the stands with the rogue becoming a closer reality to my mind.<p>

"_The requisites of the rogue are that they are of Sinnoh, and they are extremely violent," _I reminded. _"Just with that, I can peg Toxicroak right away, but it just feel right to me. Satoshi told me that detectives should never overlook the obvious, but is it okay to be this obvious about your identity? But that's another thing; why would Arceus give me such a cryptic message when he could've just given the rogue's species? It's almost as if he were unaware of the rogue's Pokémon species. But to do that, one would have to be an extremely powerful psychic user, if anything else._

"_Gallade is interesting, but I just can't peg a guy who would save his village as one who would turn into a criminal. But the wounds on Sableye were obviously made by something long and wooden, and he always carries those wooden swords around. But the real question is would he risk that around his sister?_

"_Sure, if he was the rogue, he probably couldn't care less, but earlier he was acting like a loving brother with Kirlia. Then again, emotions can be fabricated with the proper training. If I were to bring this up to Kirlia, how would it go? The only Pokémon that can't fabricate emotions are ghosts, and let's face it, you would have to be a master to break this kind of possibility to a person."_

I looked around and found no sign of Gallade, but Kirlia was sitting against the wall and with a depressed look on her face. I walked up to her and took a seat next to her as she looked over at me and gave me a small smile out of politeness.

"Where's your brother?" I asked.

"That's what I'd like to know," Kirlia said holding her head in hands. "He took off after we found Keeps in his current state, and I haven't heard from him since. Look, I know that you're not sitting here for small talk. So what kind of questions do you have about my brother?"

"You're good, I'll give you that," I said as I relaxed in my stance. "Does your brother ever seem as though he's faking his emotions?" I asked.

"All the time," Kirlia said. "For his entire life, Tsubasa has been an outcast because of something he couldn't control, and because of that he doesn't trust anyone. Every time we talk, I can tell he's faking his smile, and inside he just wants to be left alone."

"Could you gather more than that?" I asked as Kirlia shook her head.

"He knows that I can read his thoughts," Kirlia explained. "Any kind of secrets, he's kept inside the deeper reaches of his mind, and that's a place I can't reach," she finished as she looked at me thinking about everything she had said. "No offense, but shouldn't you be out searching through clues instead of interrogating family and friends?"

"It's my plan for tomorrow," I said. "I should be back by the second match they do tomorrow."

"I don't think so," Kirlia said as I turned to her confused. "The next few rounds are going to be all done at once," she explained. "They're going to have all eight remaining fighters in each block fight in a big free-for-all for the right to the finals. Last person standing wins it all."

"Excuse me," I said as I stomped towards the announcing stage.

Pushing Typhlosion against the wall, I looked into his eyes with my one, and he looked back at me with no visible fear.

"Why didn't you tell me about tomorrow's match format?" I asked.

"Hey don't blame us, spook," he said as he pushed himself from my grip. "You're little samurai friend, Tori, told us that this would be most efficient, and would allow people to enjoy the festival for a much longer time."

"We talked it over for about an hour," Alice said. "He said that even though it's dangerous for all these people, including him, that he knows that this is what's best."

"I'll wring his scheming neck," I said as I stomped away as Alice looked at the stage to see it completely fixed.

* * *

><p>"All right everybody, what do you say we get this party started?" she asked into the microphone as the audience cheered while I returned to my spot in the stands. "Well, to start this final match of the first match; first is a dojo student who has trained with the competitor Danny for as long as they've known each other. Let's give a big hand for Alex!" she announced as I turned my attention to the pathway leading to the main stage.<p>

The girl Alex, or, as I knew her, Dewott walked on stage with a determined look on her eye holding a shinai, or a kendo bamboo practice sword, under her arm. From what I had heard from her, she was the Riolu's best friend, and probably didn't want to disappoint him by losing. No offense, but that kind of reasoning is stupid and flawed.

"And now, let's hear it for a girl who really is more than what she seems. Please join me in welcoming Reikon!" Alice announced as my eyes quickly fixed on the opposite end of the field where I could see a shivering frame emerge.

Drifloon was about as shaky as a leaf, and she had plenty of reason for doing so. As I explained the first time we met, she was born into a family that taught her to be fearful of everything and to run away.

"Fighters ready?" Alice asked as she held the mallet for the gong. "Begin!" she shouted as the gong rang throughout the school grounds.

Dewott was first to move as Drifloon was still left fidgeting with her fingers still scared by all the eyes looking at her. Dewott smirked as she thrust the shinai behind her and jumped up ready to attack. Looking up just barely, Drifloon jumped to the side of her attack and nervously chuckled at Dewott who ran after again.

The audience began looking back and forth as Dewott chased Drifloon from one side of the stage to another. Drifloon still kept her hands up close to her chest as she ran while Dewott swung madly at her.

"Stay in one place already!" she shouted as she began making a heavy breath.

"But if I do that, you'll hurt me," Drifloon said as a vein popped in her opponent's head. "Is everything okay?"

Dewott looked up with a pair of sinister, almost glowing eyes as she brought the sword up and pointed it straight at Drifloon with an evil chuckle emanating from her mouth. A bead of sweat dropped from Drifloon's forehead as the chase began once more with the audience following them back and forth. I had even begun to follow after them as Dewott continued to make the wide swings that almost surrounded her entire body.

"This is bad," I heard a voice say from behind me. "Alex never was one to keep her temper in check," the voice revealed to be Riolu said. "Even if we haven't been in the dojo since we've known each other, we always were sparring partners. But whenever Alex felt that her opponent wasn't giving it their all, she would go full speed loco."

"She should see a psych," I said as Riolu nodded in agreement. "But anger isn't going to help against Drifloon. She's spent her whole life running from things like this, and if Dewott has any hope of winning, then she has to either calm down, or hope to Arceus she can land a hit."

I wasn't too sure of which option it was going to be if Dewott was going to win, but what intrigued me more was Drifloon. Her dodge pattern seemed all too familiar as she would simply glide through the air with a single jump motion to start her off. I closed my eye and snapped my fingers in time with her dodges and found a simple pattern taken in between each one.

"Dewott will lose this battle," I said opening my eye.

"How do you know that?" Riolu asked me not moving his attention from the stage. "Despite the fact that she's not thinking about what she's doing, it's still possible to win, right?"

"Not so, given the way Drifloon is dodging," I answered. "It's a technique that's taught to all ghost Pokémon that float to move by definition. It's called Flotation Evasion, but we call it Mist Movement. Using little physical exertion in your dodges and allowing yourself the slow movements makes an opponent hesitate, and almost always miss. As an added benefit, the movement allows you to quickly change your directional movement because your speed isn't overtaking you."

"Maybe so, but that logic can only work for physical attacks," Riolu said as Dewott stopped in her attacks and reaching for two small sharp clams strapped to her legs. "The main weapon of any of the evolutionary family from Dewott is known as the Scalchop, and can be used as almost any weapon."

Just as Riolu described, Dewott threw the two scallop shaped weapons as though they were throwing stars. As the weapons spun in their path towards her, Drifloon screamed out of fear and quickly ducked trying to evade the two weapons that were continually thrown at her as they returned to their owner like boomerangs. Trying her best to continue dodging them, Drifloon jumped in a sideways position and got struck in her back as the clams made their return trip.

Falling to the ground, the crowd fell silent as Drifloon struggled to get back up and placed her hands back to her chest and allowed her hair to fall over her eyes. Seeing a slight tremble from her opponent, Dewott smiled and attached both of the scallops to her shinai while a blue light extended to the tip.

"Razor Shell," Riolu said as I nodded in agreement. "If this hits, then Alex will win."

Dewott held the sword to her side and charged towards Drifloon who looked up with her eyes glowing an eerie light blue color. Dewott stopped in her tracks as Drifloon brushed back her hair to reveal her hair clip shining in the same color while an electric field began to appear around her.

"There are things about ghosts that one just can't beat," I said as Riolu seemed dumbfounded by the electric attack emanating from Drifloon. "Many of us can learn moves that aren't of our own element, and Drifloon is no different with Shock Wave."

Firing the attack Drifloon looked forward towards Dewott and followed her as she tried to escape the attack.

"Resistance is futile," Drifloon said in a more stern voice. "Shock Wave always hits…one way or another," she explained as Dewott stopped and took the full brunt of the attack. "You are powerful, but I was taught by a Pokémon even stronger. A Pokémon that makes others shudder at the sound of his name."

"Drifloon was taught by a Pokémon that didn't share the cowardly viewpoints as Drifblim did," I explained to Riolu. "A Pokémon that I have vowed revenge against myself."

"…Dusknoir," Drifloon and I said in unison as Dewott looked up for a second and fell down unconscious.

* * *

><p>After the gong had rung and the audience cheered, Alice dismissed them to go enjoy the rest of the festival. After explaining the format of the next few rounds, Alice expected there to be an even larger crowd gathering, and I was hoping to have the rest of this endeavor finished, and to get back to London. But so many questions were still left unanswered. I thought about them as I followed the other Pokémon to check on those in the infirmary.<p>

"_Who is really giving the orders for the format of this tournament? Tori's too flaky to actually come up with anything like that. Who is the rogue? The whole reason for this tournament is to find that one stinking Pokémon. Who attacked Sableye? Even the rogue wouldn't risk an attack like that. How do Toxicroak and Gallade fit into all this? Toxicroak is the most obvious, and Gallade is the most suspicious."_

Unfortunately, my answers would have to wait. As I walked into the infirmary, I saw Abomasnow apologizing to Glaceon, but swearing that they would fight one of these days. I saw Dewott apologizing to Riolu for letting him down even though he said it was okay. A lot of the other Pokémon had been released, but I knew that in the ICU unit was the Pokémon that truly had all the answers to everything.

I pulled the curtains away and saw Sableye…on the ground with a large wound on his head.

"Sableye!" I shouted as the other Pokémon rushed to the room and saw the ghost Pokémon in his battered state. "Somebody, call a hospital, now!" I said frantically as I listened for a heartbeat.

"Is he?" Froslass asked quietly.

"He's alive," I said letting him down to the ground. "But no thanks to whoever hit him on the head. And when I find that rogue, he'll pay."

I walked past Kimiko and Cassandra who both looked at me with guilt faces as I walked by them, but I was too angry to care at the moment. The only thing that I wanted wasn't something anyone could console me about. I wanted revenge.

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty five complete. Well, this is a big day for me seeing as I finally broke twenty five chapter, and I'm finally graduating high school. Then it's off to college where I'll never get to write…yay. I hope you know I mean that sarcastically. But seriously, now that the final round for the first set of fights is over, I'm going to skip the two large melees because they would take forever, and get back to good old fashioned detective work. And now it's your final clue to the rogue; his name starts with "H."<p>

Chapter twenty six preview: Duskull, now that Sableye is in a coma, is now off to get his job done. To do so, he'll need to get help from his detective friend Satoshi, and famed burglar Phantom Thief S. A terrifying truth is revealed about one of the suspects, and may call the case of the Rogue Pokémon to a close. Next time; Investigating with Humans, Revisited.


	27. Investigating with Humans, Revisited

Here's chapter twenty six of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Well, now that I'm finally done with the first round of the tournament, I'm going to get back to Duskull trying to do some actual legwork as a detective, and hopefully he'll find something before anyone else gets too seriously hurt. As I said last time, this chapter brings back everyone's favorite Pokémon thief Shiftry. Well until the author's notes at the end, enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 26: Investigating with Humans, Revisited<p>

The steady beeping sound rang throughout my ears without the slightest sign that it would let up. From what the doctors told me, it was called an ECG or electrocardiogram, and it was used to measure his heartbeats to make sure that he was healthy. I looked at the figure on the bed and held back the tear falling from my eye, and left the room with Sableye left to the doctor's judgment.

It was only midday on Thursday, and already I had learned so much more than what I set out to. But the part of all of this that made it the more exhausting was the idea of listening to that stupid machine beeping over and over. This was the first time I had seen Sableye seem so at peace; it's just too bad that he was hooked up to a machine that almost numbered his heartbeats for us. I wasn't alone in my pain as Cassandra, Kimiko, and a whole mess of other Pokémon had gathered in the waiting room of the hospital to hear the results back from the doctor.

The doctor walked through the door with a depressed look on his face as I ran over to him. It seemed as though everything was in silence and anything he said made no sound. I nodded my head in understanding and walked back to the center of the room and looked out at the other Pokémon who stared at me with hopeful eyes.

"The results came back, and the doctors have confirmed that Sableye is in a coma," I said as many of the Pokémon gasped in fear. "I'm not sure whether to be surprised, a nervous-wreck, or understanding of this development. Arceus warned that in this world, we would be susceptible to the same physical, mental, and health situations that humans are in. I know a low of you are in this tournament still, and I don't expect you to drop out because of this. I only ask that when you fight out there, make sure that you're careful, and you keep Sableye in your thoughts."

* * *

><p>I bowed to all of them and walked out the door of the hospital. I walked along the sidewalk back to the school and could hear the excited shouts of children, families, even those of older age, and I couldn't hold back my anger.<p>

"_Don't they know that my friend may never wake up?"_ I asked. _"These humans are such selfish creatures. If it's not happening to them, then it doesn't have any effect on them. I'm only glad that I found two humans who look out for the better of the Pokémon they've met, and not for themselves."_

As I walked back to the school grounds, I could hear heavy breathing behind me along with rapid footsteps. I turned around to face Cassandra and Kimiko who still had the same guilty looks on their faces from when I passed them earlier. I sighed and placed both hands in my pockets looking at them expectantly.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?" I asked as both looked at each other and nodded.

"We were there when the rogue appeared," Cassandra confessed as my eye nearly popped out of my head.

"What?" I asked as I approached them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Keeps said not to," Kimiko explained. "He said that every question you have will be answered in time."

"Time," I said as I threw my fist against a nearby wall. "Time is what we don't have. Time is what Sableye doesn't have. Time is what we need. I need to have the time to look at all the clues that have been presented and then, I need to look for new ones."

"What's there to know?" Kimiko asked. "Hemlock roughed him up before this on stage. Who's to say he wouldn't back in the infirmary? The rogue did talk in this hoarse whisper while we were there."

"And I suppose that Toxicroak is the only Pokémon who talks like that?" I asked Kimiko as she backed away. "The key to being a detective is the following; always have your eyes on the details, never overlook the obvious, and never make pointless speculation. Saying that Toxicroak is the rogue simply because of a speech pattern isn't enough for anything."

* * *

><p>I walked away with the two girls who were left frozen in fear at how angry I was, but part of them must've known that I didn't mean all of it. At least I hoped. When I reached the school, I walked through the festival grounds and didn't stop to look at anything. Instead, I headed straight for my dorm and slammed the door heading in. As I swung on the bed post and onto the mattress I couldn't help but think about what it would be like if I were there.<p>

"Something got you down?" I heard Tori's voice ask as I he dangled a package of shrimp flavored noodles from the top bunk.

"You don't the counsel noodles to know that," I said as Tori threw them off to side. "I don't suppose you know, but Keeps was attacked again."

"Yeah, Kimiko told me," Tori answered. "From what I heard, by something wooden, and extremely heavy," he said as he handed me his sword. "In case you suspect me of it, go ahead and run a test on the scabbard if you feel it necessary."

"I don't suspect you," I said casting the sword to the side. "I have it pegged down to either the contestants Tsubasa or Hemlock. I'll be checking them both of them out tomorrow while the tournament is having its two melee matches."

"Sounds like a plan if there ever was one," Tori said as he pulled the sword back up to his bed. "Any idea as to who's gonna help with your investigation? Sure, Kimiko's dad is good, but that was back when DVD was a new wave."

"Well who would you recommend?" I asked as Tori looked down at me and raised his eyebrows mischievously. "You wouldn't."

"I have him on speed dial," he answered as he pulled out his phone.

"That's not really necessary, you know," I said as he pressed the buttons of his phone and it instantly dialed _him_.

"Hey, S, it's Tori…Yeah, sounds like fun, but listen, I need a favor. Remember the Sherlock wannabe, Itzal. He's in a bit of a jam, and needs your help. Mm-hm, yeah, okay, I'm sure he'd be glad to. Can you be here tomorrow at the school's gate? Great."

Tori hung up the phone as I placed a hand on his head and he froze in place with a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead. He turned to face me to see my eye staring at him as though trying to burn a whole right through him.

"What exactly would I be glad to do, pray tell?" I asked as Tori began walking away from and ran into the bathroom locking the door. "Answer me!" I shouted knocking on the door.

"I said you would…" Tori said whispering the rest through the door.

"WHAT!" I shouted for the rest of the dorm to hear.

* * *

><p>The next day came way too fast for my taste, and I woke up at normal time (AKA 5:30 am) trying to sneak out of my room before Toro woke up. As I opened the door I felt a blunt object hit me on the head. Picking it up off the ground, I found a rock with a note tied to it reading, "Forgetting something…~Tori."<p>

"_I'm going to kill him,"_ I said to myself as I walked back into the room and began searching through the closet. _"Why he even has this thing is a wonder to me."_

I looked around each corner to make sure no one was watching as I tiptoed out of the dorm building wearing an outfit apparently based on the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. I walked through the dorm lobby when I heard a loud flashing sound, and saw a bright light from one side where I saw a camera strategically placed. I walked up to it and saw a note, also from Tori, reading, "How elementary is it, Holmes?"

I gritted my teeth and threw off the outfit with my overcoat on underneath. I sighed out of relief and looked back at the hat, and quickly grabbed it placing it on my head. I don't know why, but I kinda liked the ambience.

I walked out of the dorm building, and over towards the main gate for the school. At the gate, I waited for only a few minutes when I saw Satoshi running towards me, and running out of breath in the process. As he panted and bent over I shook my head and felt a wind suddenly spring up while kicking several leaves along with it.

I looked up to see the wooden mask appearing out of the wind along with the fan that knew already so much to me. The thief's form was all too familiar for me as he stepped out and took one look at me and seemed depressed. He then looked up at the hat I had on and tried to suppress his laughter which proved to be futile.

"Oh, if I knew it was going to be this rich," Shiftry said while laughing. "I would of required you to wear the whole ensemble. Oh well, the picture will suffice."

"You're going to pay for that one, Shiftry," I said as Satoshi looked at the both of us confused. "Well, let's bring both of you up to speed," I said. "For the entire morning before the final match of this tournament, we'll be checking out the temporary residence of both Hemlock/Toxicroak and Tsubasa/Gallade. I'll take Toxicroak's place seeing as he won't be there, and I can work better without you two in the way; and both of you can take Gallade's. Satoshi, Gallade has a small apartment he normally lives in on the outskirts of town, and Shiftry, you can take his current residence for the tournament duration. If you see anything worthy of note, call me. Got it?"

Satoshi nodded and Shiftry gave a small smirk as we ran off in different directions.

* * *

><p>It took me all of fifteen minutes to reach Toxicroak's residence. I knocked on the door to make sure no one was in there, and I walked inside to see if I could find anything incriminating.<p>

The second I walked into the apartment, I felt like puking by what I saw. I recoiled back around the corner trying to tell myself that I hadn't seen what I had. I gulped and tried to keep my wits about me as I rounded the corner, and looked all around the room. Along each wall was a mess of pictures of different people, each with an "X" over their faces. I turned my head from side to side, and tried my best to identify any of the faces, but found myself at a loss for all of them.

Each of the pictures was enlarged to fit about a fourth of each wall, and each had a mark on the bottom left corner. The mark reminded of the face that Toxicroak once wore in the Pokémon world. Along the wall were smaller pictures with neither a mark or X. Unfortunately, I did recognize them; especially since one of them was myself. I removed each of the thumb tacks from the pictures and laid them out in front of me to see which ones were Pokémon.

_"Why would Toxicroak have a picture for a whole mess with X's over their faces, and have all of these smaller pictures with nothing?"_ I asked myself. _"It's almost as if each of the pictures symbolizes something that has been done, or needs to be done. The pictures that have been enlarged may be like trophies to him. Spoils of war if you will. If that's the case, then these smaller ones may be trophies he's yet to aquire. But if that's the case..."_ I finished as I frantically looked around the room.

None of the people on the wall were recognizable, but part of me knew he had to be up here. As I turned my back, a small breeze blew in from the window and blew the corners of some of the pictures behind me. I turned back around in a flash and looked under the corner of one of the pictures. From where I was, I could make out the Roman Numerals for twelve, eleven, and one with an hour hand. I ripped off the pictures of one of the walls, and felt like puking again as a picture of a weakened, and possibly dying Sableye decorated the entirety of the wall.

I walked backwards slowly with my mouth gaping open, and remembered the matches today. The melee battles would be an all against all with the remaining fighters from each block. I hurried over to the other pictures and began sorting them out between the two blocks of the tournament, and again felt sick to my stomach. All in one group of pictures were photographs of Gallade, Flygon, Sneasel, Ninetales, and Riolu. As for the second group, I could find no one from the Pokémon group, but did find something that made me extremely nervous about what was to unfold. I folded up the picture, and placed it in my coat pocket.

I walked throughout the rest of the apartment, and found nothing else of interest, unless if you count toothpaste, milk three weeks past the expiration date, and a journal items of interest. Wait, journal? I walked backwards towards the small book and began leafing through the pages and saw it started towards the end of February.

_"Date: Monday February 23: Evidently, today isn't my lucky day. Some brat couldn't stay out of matters that didn't concern him, and it's put a target on the back of his head. That brat with the rod, Tori I believe, is about to learn that you can't keep me from my fun."_

I shook my head and skipped the other entries, and started right from the tournament's start.

_"Date: Thursday February 26: Is it some curse that I have that people think it's okay to ruin my fun. That girl, that Duskull's girlfriend, seems to think that words are more powerful than actions. But, for some reason, I couldn't continue to attack that scum. If there was anyone who was to know about my past, it should not be him. All these humans are weak, and it's up to me to toughen them up. Duskull better watch his back."_

I closed the journal, and walked away with the current matches on my mind. I pulled my mask down over my face, and made a circular motion with my wrist. In my open hand, a small Will O Wisp appeared and I released it in the direction of the tournament stage.

* * *

><p>Placing my index and middle fingers over my eye, I watched overything that was within the vision of my fireball. Piloting it over to the stands where I had watched everything yesterday, I downgraded the size of the fireball and placed it aside to Cassandra's earring as I had done other times before.<p>

Angling it down, through the Will O Wisp all I could make out was raw carnage. As I suspected, it was Toxicroak and Gallade controlling the battle. I could two unconscious Pokémon already; Riolu and Flygon; meaning that Sneasel and Ninetales were left. From the looks between them, Gallade and Toxicroak were working together so that they could fight without the distraction of the other fighters. Sneasel, battling Gallade, charged in with her eye glowing as though under the influence of the curse, with her hand outstretched. Gallade simply chuckled and made a quick side step slamming the sword against her back.

As Sneasel fell to the ground unconscious, Ninetales took a deep breath in and shot a Flamethrower attack at Toxicroak who merely slashed through it with his cane and attacked her in her stomach. Both Gallade and Toxicroak turned to each other and grinned as they collided in the middle, already dead locked into a match that boasted both's prowess with a sword, or sword-like object. At that moment, Cassandra flicked her hair, probably irritated by the feeling of another presence so close to her. As she cast the fireball aside, I found my vision going in a tumbling motion until the Will O Wisp hit a wall and disappeared.

* * *

><p>I felt my head spinning inside Toxicroak's apartment, and held it in place. I walked out of the apartment to hear the cheers of people not sure whether or not what they were witnessing was real, or just some show with wires.<p>

I figured that their wasn't anything else to learn from Toxicroak's place, so I left the area and dialed Satoshi's number on my phone. As I waited for him to answer, looked all around me and began to think about how Gallade could be the rogue.

_"The only thing linking him to the rogue is that he's a Sinnoh Pokémon, and at least has been shown to be a little violent,"_ I said to myself, but still had some doubt. _"But I need to know more. Anyone in my profession would need to know more. Let's just hope that those two have been as successful as me."_

As if on cue, Satoshi picked the phone up and asked who was calling. After I confirmed the indentity of myself, he said it was good that I called and that there was something he needed to show me at Gallade's temporary dwelling on campus. I thought about why Satoshi was at the place where I designated Shiftry to go, but figured my answers would come when they were supposed to, so Sableye said.

* * *

><p>Gallade's apartment was on the other end of the campus, so I had the opportunity to swing by the tournament. Outside the stands, a large screen hooked to the different cameras placed in the tournament grounds was showing the current battle. Obviously, Toxicroak and Gallade had finished their battle, and all I could see was a mass scramble, kinda like the different fights I saw in the preliminary. The only thing that seemed off was the fact that Tori wasn't making notice of himself. In the prelims, Tori was a central part of the battle, and that's won him this seat. I began to see other differences; for one, Tori had changed his weapon yet again, back to the rod he used in the prelims. The other being that he only fought when someone came close to him, and they would always be caught up in some other battle.<p>

_"I believe this is the very definition of wishy-washy,"_ I said to myself as I walked towards Gallade's current address.

Along on the way, I saw a crowd gathering around a news stand. When I approached the stand, I could see advertisements about the tournament, and dossiers about each of the competitors. I didn't give any of them much thought given that I already knew everything I needed for my investigation, but then saw a small pile as compared to other fifteen. Moving up in line, I bought the last one, and looked on the inside of the folder to see Tori's face.

_"Why would Tori's be so popular?"_ I asked myself as I began leafing through the pages, and placed the folder in my bag as I found myself at Gallade's address.

* * *

><p>I knocked on the door, and I could hear two people shuffling about in there. One of them looked at me through the peephole, and opened the door revealing himself as Shiftry who welcomed me in. Upon entering, I could tell that Gallade was more meticulous when it came to house cleaning.<p>

"Is that Itzal?" Satoshi asked as I walked through the apartment. "About time. We've been trying to find some meaning of all of this for the last half an hour."

"Trying to make sense of what, exactly?" I asked walking in, and fully realizing what was going on. "Okay, wow."

Along the walls were pictures, much like Toxicroak's apartment, but there was something different about them. None of them were grossly enlarged, but each was the same size, and looked like they were taken from an automatic camera given they were in black and white. I only recognized three people on the different pictures; Toxicroak, Tori, and Cassandra. Whatever these pictures were meant to symbolize, they had to do something in common.

"Gallade's a hitman," Satoshi said out of the blue. "That's what would make the most sense."

"When you say a hitman, does that mean he hits people?" I asked. "You know like one good shot across the face?"

"In a manner of speaking," Shiftry said leaning against the open door. "A hitman is an underground occupation in which one is hired to kill another, or can simply be used to make a point to the victim. Many times, hitmen are hired by mafia groups in the European countries of Italy and the European side of Russia. In many cases though, the hitman with a more sniper-esque demeanor, will stalk his victims, get to know their schedule, and attack them at the safest place to do the act."

"I still have my doubts," I said. "Does he keep a dossier of his recent, I don't know what to call it, missions?"

"Right here," Satoshi said shuffling through a desk drawer, and pulling a small black book with different kinds of pictures with X's across their faces. "He's really quite organized in this thing. He keeps a full list of the target's personal information; family size, possible aliases and affiliations, even a date as to when the target was neutralized."

Satoshi began flipping through the book, and looking at each picture, as I went back around the house to see everything completely devoid of dust, or wear and tear. I looked through some of his drawers in his kitchen, and found nothing out of the ordinary except for the unusual, if not extremely disturbing, attention to the smallest detail. A picture began to form in my mind with Gallade taking twenty minutes at a time to stack his silverware precisely on top of each other. Going through his desk myself, I found a worn, beat-up notebook with two things inside; one being a list of names, probably his victims, and the other being a small journal entry on the facing page.

"Here we go," I said reading the page down. "'My mission to go to Japan will most likely not be an easy one. Not only does it go against my extreme feelings of morality, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to strike them down. The conflictions in my heart are those of a person who doesn't know whether or not that death, or even murder, is something that he wants to witness, or whether death, or even murder, could be the only way that my life can continue. I will contemplate this more in their presence and determine whether it is to be the right thing to do. Thank you for allowing me to write my feelings as one in my profession is not to have any.'"

"So what are we supposed to say to that?" Siftry asked as he stayed leaning against the door frame.

"Gallade has a mission here," I said. "That much is obvious. But from this, he's hesitatn about because he says it goes against his morals. But that can range from anything to not kicking a puppy to splitting your bannana length-wise."

"His mission is against a girl," Satoshi said looking through Gallade's dossier. "A common moral that many people accept is that it's wrong to strike a girl. Gallade is probably going after one of the girls that are either in the tournament, or can point him out for what he really is; an emotionally unstable young boy."

"Which one of them would be able to point that out?" Shiftry asked.

"My sister," a voice said behind all of us. "The hit is on my own sister, the one that now calls herself Hanna."

He all turned to where Shiftry stood to see Gallade holding both swords in a ready stance, but slightly weakly. His eyes were angered, most likely from the fact we had discovered his secret. Gallade walked into the room, as I looked behind myself to see the open page of his black book with a picture of Kirlia devoid of an X.

"Why is there a hit on Kirlia?" I asked as Gallade walked into the room with his sword pointed at both me and Shiftry.

"She angered too many people with connections in the underworld through her predictions because they came true," Gallade said keeping a good distance from both of us, as he moved to Satoshi, and moved the wooden sword under his chin. "Now you'll leave me here, and this man won't be harmed. A life for a life."

"How is that a fair bargain?" I asked when Shiftry placed a hand on my shoulder.

"He means it as Satoshi's life will be spared if we keep quiet about his life as a hired gun, or sword in this case," the grass type explained. "But that kind of deal stinks, and it has no upside for him. He can't swear us to secrecy after we leave with Satoshi in hand. His plan is to make sure we stay here with him until he makes arrangements to leave."

"I must say, it's a genius plan," Satoshi said. "But when you leave, what name will you be under?"

"What?" Gallade asked.

"The facing page from your jounral entry had a list of different names," Satoshi explained. "Itzal figured they were a list of your victims, but none of the names match up. Let me see if I can remember some of them. Hmm...Stevenson, Dickens, Ranpo, Homer, and Doyle."

"Those are all writers and storytellers," I realized. "So why the name Tsubasa? It's not a writer's."

"It's because it's my legal name," Gallade answered. "It's true that all hitmen use a series of aliases to keep their identity hidden, and, at the same time, memorable. But in order to complete the mission against my sister, I needed something that she could trust, and not point out something as suspicious. Now as I said, and as Shiftry said, you're going to stay here with me until I leave, and then we all leave and nothing changes."

"What about Kirlia?" I asked. "You abandoned her for years, and now you're going to do the same thing that you did then. Granted last time you didn't have a choice, but now you do. Don't you think that your sister deserves the truth after all this time?"

Gallade fell silent as he lowered his head, and then slowly lowered his swords. He placed them aside his body as Satoshi stepped away from him, but suddenly felt a strong sting against his back causing him to fall over. Both Shiftry and I looked over at Gallade who eyes were even more angered at us, but probably more so with me.

"Don't think you can ever lecture me about my choices," he said as he charged me, and slashed downward.

I closed my eyes, and slowly opened as heard the connection of the sword against something hard and wooden as well. I saw in front of me, Gallade struggling to thrust his sword down while Shiftry held it up on the wooden siding of his fan. Pushing him back, Shiftry looked back at me, and smiled with a "go on" look.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Come on, Duskull," he started. "Everyone knows that right now, you're the star in this world. And it's up to you to bring the story you've written, with all these wayward characters, to a happy ending."

* * *

><p>I nodded, and ran out of the apartment, and threw my mask over my face, and disappeared into the air, flying to the tournament stands. The only thought going through my mind was the names that I learned, and something I saw in that little book. Aside the codenames that Gallade used was a country's name, and next to Belgium was the name Homer, as in the storyteller of the Odyssey. Before the tournament rounds had begun, Sableye told me about a time when made a delievery to the country of Belgium, and met another Pokémon, and could tell that they weren't from there. What if that was Gallade under the name Homer? Glaceon told me in the hospital that she could here the conflict next door, and from it she heard one final statement.<p>

_"Why did it have to be you, H-?"_

If that was the rogue's name, than it could be Toxicroak or Gallade, but I just don't know what to think anymore. Would Arceus count a Pokémon as a criminal for being true to his nature that he can't change? Or would Arceus count a Pokémon as a criminal for his job in a world aside from our own?

My thoughts were cut-off by the sound of my cell phone ringing, as I picked up, and heard Cassandra's voice on the other end.

"Itzal, you have to get back here right away!" she said frantically.

"Why, what's wrong?" I asked.

"The finals are starting, and it's between Hemlock, and...and," she said trying to force the words out of her mouth.

"Who, just tell me?" I asked as she whispered it quietly into the speaker, and my face froze with fear. "No...it can't be. How can it be him? How can it be...Tori?"

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty six complete. Sorry for not updating in forever, but things have been pretty hectic, but I promise to end the Japan Arc before I go to school in the middle of September. Until then, thanks for reading.<p>

Chapter twenty seven preview: It'ss the final round, and Duskull's wrost nightmare has become a reality. Tori is to fight Toxicroak, the person whom Tori stopped in the prelims. The question is, can Tori survive against the power of someone who hates him so much? And will this finally give us the answer to who the rogue truly is? Next time: Fighting with Humans: Final Battle; Tori vs Hemlock.


	28. Fighting with Humans, Final Battle

Here's chapter twenty seven of my Pokémon Gijinka fanfic. Sorry for the long wait for the last chapter, but as usual I went on one of my crazed writing crusades, and a prolonged hiatus for college. But now, I'd like to say that I do plan to finish the Japan Arc before I leave for school when I won't have as much time as I do now. As for my new Conquest story, that won't be updated for some time, so don't hold your breath for that one, I need to figure out how to write that one. I must ask that nobody skips ahead in the story as key plot points are revealed, and I don't want you spoiling it for yourself. But now without further ado...or adon't, let's begin.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 27: Fighting with Humans, Final Battle; Tori vs. Hemlock<p>

I never knew it was possible to run out of breath when you're simply floating through the air. But that was exactly what was happening as I sped across the sky leaving Shiftry to battle against Gallade, who had just now been revitalized as a suspect for the rogue despite the fact that he wasn't in the final round as I expected the rogue to be in. Instead, the one in the final round was the original rogue suspect, Toxicroak, but at the current time, he was the least of my worries. My biggest concern right then was his opponent, my friend, and my temporary class' representative, Tori.

As I looked down, and found myself two hundred feet from the tournament arena, a thought came to my head that made even me question the authenticity of this tournament. How could Tori, a human who has little battling potential as compared to the Pokémon he was battling in the big melee, make it all the way through this tournament? Either Alice and Typhlosion fixed it up to make it more interesting for the viewers, or Tori is still keeping secrets from me. I figured my answers would be answered after I met up with the girls, or any of the Pokémon willing to speak up.

I floated towards the competitor stands, appeared in the shadows of the back, and walked forward flipping off my mask, allowing my cloak to disappear. As I walked forward, I could almost sense that something was wrong with everyone, mostly the fact that no one in the stands were any of the previous competitors, but the Pokémon that has been watching and commenting on the matches as they happened. From the left; Bayleef, Drowzee, Froslass, Kirlia, Beautifly, and Lopunny. Each were seated on the bench in the back while Cassandra and Kimiko stayed leaned over on the railing, looking down at the battlefield as some minor holes were being fixed.

"Cassandra," I said as the blond girl jolted up at the sudden voice calling to her. "Can you tell me what happened? I'm almost sure of who the rogue is, and if you can tell me how Tori got into this fix, then we may be able to talk him out of it."

"Well," Cassandra started as the memory passed in front of her mind's eye. "During the second block's melee battle, Tori stayed off to the sides, and let everyone else duke it out. He only joined the fight after there were only three other fighters. After the first pair ended in a tie, it was left between Flash and Tori. Tori had backed off again, and Flash charged in with a straight on jump kick. Tori simply ducked under it, and struck Flash's leg with the rod forcing him on the ground, and surrendering."

"It was just like him," Kimiko said as she looked slightly more depressed as compared as to how she was normally. "He never took unnecessary risks, and had everything calculated far in the future. There was no way he was going to lose. But I had never seen him as that before."

"Tori isn't one to be trifled with," Drowzee said from the back. "I watched him battle as well, and all I can say is that no matter how you think about, he doesn't make sense. His explanation for his abilties, reflexes, and everything he can do to fight are the martial arts he studies. But how many arts can one person learn?"

"As many as they can without losing their sense of discipline," Kimiko answered. "Tori told me he studied, in his earlier life, kendo, jodo, iaido, kyuudo, and aikido. That means he's learned how to fight with a sword in two styles, a rod, a bow and arrow, and his hands."

"You've lost me on all of those," Beautifly said.

"Each of the martial arts that Tori studies are based on a practice called bushido," I explained. "Bushido, or way of the warrior, can refer to the discipline of samurai warriors in feudal Japan. The five Tori studies are kendo, the way of the sword, jodo, the way of the staff, iaido, the way of the blade draw, kyuudo, the way of bow, and aikido, the way of the harmonious spirit. Essentially, Tori is a samurai."

"Would that explain, his abilities?" Bayleef asked as everyone looked at Kimiko.

"Well, maybe if he had truly practiced them since his early years," Kimiko explained. "He said he started training at about four, so he's been training for thirteen years."

"I still have a hard time believing that the kid is seventeen," Lopunny said.

"He _is_ a little a short for this age," Kirlia said chuckling when I looked at her, and thought about what I had just experienced with Gallade. "Anything wrong?" she asked noticing my staring at her.

"No," I lied. "It's nothing. I was just wondering if you were happy that you finally found your brother."

"Well, I'll admit he's a little strange," she said with a slight chuckle. "But when you think about it from a different standpoint, there are a lot of people who don't know if they even have a family that's alive today, and I used to be part of that group. But when I saw my brother in that battle in the prelims, I finally knew that there was family for me, and that it was a feeling that would keep me from another sleepless night."

"I see," I said trying to hold myself back from convincing myself that telling Kirlia that her brother was a hitman was the best thing. "Well, thanks," I said still conflicted as I walked back to the railing, and leaned over the edge considering jumping off.

_"This tournament has definitely gotten out of hand,"_ I said to myself. _"And if I'm not careful, the brutal assault of an innocent bystander will be on my shoulders for the rest of my pathetic life."_

* * *

><p>The competitor's stands fell silent for several minutes, when we heard a series of footsteps from the bottom of the stairs. I walked over to see who it was, and to my comfort Quilava walked up the steps followed by Cofagrigus and Zoroark. Quilava gave me a wave, and I returned it to him as the three made it up to the stands and looked out over the audience with Cofagrigus standing in between Cassandra and I, and Zoroark taking a place next to Lopunny.<p>

"So why don't you stop those two lovebirds?" Quilava asked as Cassandra, Zoroark, and Lopunny all blushed leaving me confused by his meaning.

"Because those two aren't in a relationship that could turn into a dangerous situation," Cofagrigus said pointing back at the couple that everyone fixed their eyes on. "By the way, thought I should let you know, the other Pokémon aren't coming back to the tournament grounds, at least the ones that aren't in the infirmary. They're going to check out the rest of the festival, and are ready to take out the rogue when your ready," he explained handing me a small transceiver.

* * *

><p>Almost as if one cue, the gong rang as the audience went into wild cheering fully knowing that they were about to witness something that none of them had ever experienced. Alice looked out at the audience and gave a smile, but I could tell that there was confliction. She knew something that all of us did; once this battle was over, there was no more reason for us to be together anymore. I'll admit, I wasn't to crazy about having this experience end, but my job came first.<p>

"All right, everyone, let's hear it for all of our fighters in this tournament!" she shouted as the audience cheered. "Now, the time has come to figure out who is the strongest around here! I'm probably not the first to think this, but I'll be sad when this tournament ends, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. So let's bring out the two fighters, who have proved their mettle time and time again from the prelims to the elimation matches, and finally in the giant melee battle. From Block A, Hemlock!" she announced as Toxicroak walked out to the battlefield with a chorus of jeering and booing. "And from Block B, Tori!" Alice announced as Tori walked out to a loud cheering sound as opposed to Toxicroak.

Tori walked to the battlefield with the normal lazy look on his eyes, and pulled his sword, still sheathed, to his side. Toxicroak slammed his cane on the ground causing a minor dent in the wood prompting one of the repair workers to faint.

"Hmm...they always say the first scratch hurts the worse," Toxicroak said in his monotone whisper. "But what about all the scratches I'll leave you with. Get ready kid, because now it's time for a little payback."

"You're pathetic," Tori said as Toxicroak flinched. "You dwell on things that mean nothing. And in the end, everything you dwell on is something that you caused by yourself. You use the bodies of the people you blame for things that you believe they caused as effigies of yourself."

Toxicroak stood dazed at Tori, a boy who under normal circumstances should've been scared out of his wits, reprimanded him for something that made absolutely no sense. Thinking on what Tori said, Toxicroak suddenly chuckled, trying to stifle his laughter, but to no avail as he burst into full on laughter. Tori stayed motionless, and crouched over with his sword held behind him.

"You can laugh all you want," Tori began as he looked up. "But only one can stand at the end of this."

"I'm aware," Toxicroak said with the gong ringing in the background. "And that will be me," he said behind Tori, his hand gripping the sword. "This will be done before it even starts," he said holding his sleeve above his head.

Everything fell silent as the shear on Toxicroak's sleeve slashed downward onto Tori's back, and sent him flying with a giant scrape along his back. Sound didn't begin again until Tori hit the ground, and simply lied on the floor as a limp. Toxicroak began to chuckle as he saw the seemingly lifeless body when he felt something still in his hand. Looking down, he saw the scabbard in his hand feeling the grooves embedded into the wood. Toxicroak looked down the battlefield to see Tori already on his feet with the sword in hand. Tori's stance wasn't as strong, and his eyes were devoid of expression.

* * *

><p>"CONTESTANT TORI!" Alice shouted into the microphone. "THAT WEAPON IS AGAINST THE RULES, SO YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE TOURNAMENT."<p>

"If you will, Miss," Typhlosion said tapping the little girl's shoulder. "Tori has completely shut off distraction, and you can't tell him anything. His opponent is dangerous enough, so I believe you should be willing to make an exception."

"Shut off?" I asked overhearing.

"It's part of Tori's psychiatric condition," Kimiko said looking over the railing, as though she were bored or something. "Tori's bipolar. In a lot of cases, he does have that lazy look that makes you feel like smacking him upside the head. Other times, he just becomes more violent, and at the same time, he can't see anything but his target. He once got angry at a teacher, and the next time we found him, he was beaten up."

"Why wasn't he expelled?" Cassandra asked.

"His father's on the board of directors," Kimiko answered plainly. "He vouched for him, said it was due to his bipolar disorder, and that the teacher did in the end do something that would bring out that kind of range. What with him being a peeping tom at times. To the rest of us, Tori's a hero. To everyone outside the school, he's a freak. It's why I've been wanting to tell him about you guys."

"Having four humans know about Pokémon is enough already," I said. "If you ask me, it's still five too many."

"You don't have to be such a downer," Quilava said. "And you may want to watch what's going on."

* * *

><p>I averted my gaze back at the battlefield to see Tori and Toxicroak in a frozen position in the center with their weapons pushing against the other. Tori's eyes stayed fixed on Toxicroak who was beginning to falter in his stance when his eyes snapped open with a slight smirk on his face. Instantly dropping his stance, Toxicroak swung the cane at Tori's ankles literally sweeping him off of his feet onto the ground, and sending the sword flying through the air until it stuck in the battlefield. Tori looked up, almost breaking out of his trance, so to speak, and saw the tip of Toxicroak's cane pointed at his face.<p>

"You must realize that by now," Toxicroak said walking closer. "You are doomed to fail."

"Did you know that all males have a common weakness?" Tori asked as Toxicroak furrowed his eyes. "Yeah, it works something like this!" he said quickly simply lifting his leg upward in between Toxicroak's as what sounded like a frying pan strike rang throughout the stadium. Needless to say, every guy made a symbol of sympathetic pain.

Toxicroak backed away, holding his lower area in pain with his eyes bulging and twitching, as Tori sat with his legs crossed, laughing at his reaction. I had to admit, that even I would've found that painful, but I was more worried about what was going to happen to Tori when Toxicroak got back into fighting form...or if he got back into fighting form. As I looked at the poison type, his walking was labored, and wobbly as he tried to keep from causing any more pain.

"Wow, and here I thought you were tough," Tori said jokingly. "One shot right there, though, should be enough to take out anyone...if you're not wearing a cup. Now let's get serious."

"A-About time," Toxicroak said straightening his stance, and stepping in front of Tori's sword. "But, you still can't fight with this anymore, can you?"

"Who says I need to?" Tori asked holding out his hand as the long rod I saw him fight with earlier flew into his hands. "Let's begin," he said pointing the weapon's blunt edge at his opponent.

* * *

><p>"Where'd that come from?" I asked as Kimiko pointed down at the stands.<p>

"His little brother Kaoru," she said as I looked at the little boy who began cheering for Tori.

He was probably the same age as Alice with dark colored hair styled in a bowl cut. His face was rounded, as were his brown colored eyes which were brimming with confidence for his brother. He was extremely thin, and was definitely in the process of developing his body into what it was going to be later on. He wore the same kind of school uniform as I had been for the past few weeks; consisting of the light blue blazer, slacks, and, for him, a red neck tie like what Tori was wearing loosely around his neck.

"Kaoru and Tori have always been close," Kimiko explained. "There's no way that Kaoru could ever say no to his brother."

* * *

><p>Tori took one step back as Toxicroak charged him, and blinked instantly while Toxicroak passed by the rod. Inches from Tori's face, Toxicroak brought the cane over his head when he felt a sudden crack of wood seeing the cane fly out of his hand. Tori's stance changed to a point where his arms were positioned so his rod was in the place where Toxicroak's cane once was.<p>

"Impossible," he said with his hands still in that position. _"This boy can't be stronger than myself, can he?"_

Toxicroak was still in shock, as Tori circled around him, and swung the rod directly as his midsection. Toxicroak instantly sharpened his eyes, and grabbed the rod, and tried to pry it from Tori's hands, as the wound from earlier began to take more of an effect on Tori. Cringing from the pain, Tori lost part of his grip, as Toxicroak successfully took the rod, and swung it over his head. Bringing it down, Toxicroak let out a wild scream louder than I had ever heard him before out of rage. Tori managed to roll away from the repeated strikes, until he felt the cold metal of his sword against his back.

"It looks like you're out of options," Toxicroak said as Tori reached behind him.

"Not quite," Tori said reaching for the sword, and slashing directly through the rod in one movement.

The audience everywhere, whether it was here in the stands, or out watching the big screen was stunned at the instant action made by Tori. Personally, I wasn't surprised by anything Tori ever did, except for the donation to the orphanage bit. But from what I had seen from him, he showed something I had learned to be called hyperrationality. A thinking that can rationalize the use of anything if the end justified the means. In this case, even the weapon could've been used by himself, Tori knew that if he hadn't sliced it, the battle would've been over.

* * *

><p>My focus on the match took away from everything that I didn't notice the sound of someone walking up the steps to the viewing platform. What did take my eyes off the match as it just seemed to freeze was the ringing of my cell phone. I picked it up to hear Shiftry's voice on the other side, only that it was extremely labored. He didn't talk for long, but what I could hear from him was three words, "...He got away."<p>

Hearing the steps up to the competitor stands, I instantly turned to see Gallade walking up with most of his clothes torn at some parts giving me a vision as to what state Shiftry was currently in. His eyes were still as angry as they were when I left him with Shiftry, but I could tell he was only after Kirlia still.

"Hey, Tsubasa, what's wrong?" Kirlia asked walking up to her brother sa I stepped in between them. "Itzal, what's wrong with you? Get out of my way."

"If any of us value your life," I began as I could see part of Gallade's sword shining. "I won't move."

"You will move, and let me do my job," Gallade said instantly pulling the sword off of his belt, and launching a Psycho Cut off of it.

"Tsubasa?" Kirlia exclaimed as the energy slash came closer and closer to me.

Just before it reached my body, Zoroark jumped in the way accepting the entirety of the attack. Granted he was a dark type, so the attack had no effect on Zoroark, but the shock of the attack still caused a bit of damage to the internals of his body causing him to fall over on one knee.

"Hanna is my only target here," Gallade said as he held the swords to both my and Zoroark's head. "But if you interfere, I will silence you all."

"Tsubasa, why are you doing this?" Kirlia asked as she began to venture closer to her brother. "What have I done to you?"

"It's nothing personal," Gallade said jumping up, and landing behind her, holding the swords to her neck in an X. "But you angered some powerful people. After this, who knows; I may be able to let you live."

"What happened to you?" Kirlia asked as the sword was pushed against her skin.

"He became enticed by the power he could achieve on this world," Quilava said from behind Gallade. "And he let it blind him to a simple truth. Human, or in this case Pokémon, life is more precious than anything. I wouldn't worry abuot your life, Hanna, as long as I remain standing, he can't hurt you."

"And what makes you think that I won't silence you as well?" Gallade asked moving one of the swords to Quilava.

"Two reasons," Quilava started out moving the sword to the side. "One, I answer directly to Arceus; if something happens to her, I'll talk to Arceus and you'll never be able to leave this world, and he'll strip you of your power, or if something happens to me, then Arceus will find out by coming here himself, and the same result will happen."

"And what's you second reason?" Gallade asked.

"This," he said with a smile and his hair beginning to glow a wild red color. "Flame Wheel!" he shouted ramming into the psychic and fighting type while engulfed in fire. "Let's have some fun," he finished as he and Gallade jumped above the stands leaving what was going to happen up to the imagination.

* * *

><p>My eyes went back to match to see it had already continued with Tori the one with the weapon, slashing back and forth conservatively as Toxicroak expertly dodged each strike. Making one final spinning motion, Tori held the sword outward, and aimed for Toxicroak's face hitting it on the mark. Toxicroak fell over to the side of the arena as Tori began, for the first time, to draw in excess amounts of air to compensate for the amount he lost. After a few breaths, Tori looked at Toxicroak's body as it began to move, and many people in the audience cried out, "ZOMBIE!"<p>

"That was a dirty move," Toxicroak said as he felt the side of his face where a red mark began to form. "Hitting me with the side of your sword shows a lack of faith in the enemy."

"Would you rather I hit you with the edge, and kill you now?" Tori asked as Toxicroak looked at him expectantly. "This battle is going to become a stalemate. I'm asking you to please...stop this now, and no further harm can come to either of us."

"That's the coward's way out things," Toxicroak said with an accusing finger pointed at Tori.

"Would you rather it come from me as a request than from Cassandra Yorkshire as an plea?" Tori asked as Toxicroak snapped into a daze at the sound of the name.

"The girl has nothing to do with this, so leave her name out of it!" Toxicroak said, beginning to shout it making it sound as though it were a normal sounding voice. "First you mock me, then you try to bargain with me, and then you try to confuse me? You are welcoming your demise. And I'll gladly bring it about."

"Do your worst," Tori said as his mood darkened, and threw the cane to the poison Pokémon.

Toxicroak took the cane, and began to twist the top of it, and pulled the main body from the tip revealing a long blade hidden within the wooden case. He chuckled, and licked the blade as he charged in, and both fighters engaged in a duel at high speed with no clear advantage holder.

All I could see of the fighting in between flashes of metal was each move made by the two built on top of each other from Toxicroak making one slash, Tori dodging it by jumping on his opponent's shoulders, and rebounding for another attack.

* * *

><p>"Hey Itzal," Cassandra said next to me. "Isn't there a way to prove that Toxicroak is the rogue. I mean, you found all that really sadistic stuff in there, right? If we can prove it now, maybe Tori won't have to turn into sliced ham."<p>

"In Japan, the way we would say that is turning someone into sashimi," Kimiko said from aside as the stands fell silent for a second.

"The only other clue I have about the rogue is this little bell Quilava left for me," I explained as several of the Pokémon kept their eyes on it intently trying to figure out some kind of meaning.

"Hypnosis," Drowzee said still on the bench in the stands. "In many cases, soundwaves that interfere with a hypnotic trance, can break it. My guess is that either the rogue, or Arceus is under a hypnotic trance. Just by ringing that bell in their presence would get you your answer."

"...Could it really be that simple?" I asked as I walked to the announcement booth, and snagged a microphone from Alice. "HEY! HEMLOCK!" I shouted as Toxicroak turned to me. "TIME TO WAKE UP!" I called out ringing the bell as Toxicroak's eyes widened out of fear.

* * *

><p>As the ringing continued, Toxicroak looked all around him as though in frantic fear, and I figured it was slowly breaking him out of his trance. I looked above me where Gallade and Quilava were still battling, but there was no change in either of their bodies. I looked back on the stage, and saw Tori on his back with his brother calling out to him. Toxicroak also noticed, and fixed his eyes on the sleeping figure, when my eyes widened in realization.<p>

_"No..."_ I said to myself as tears began to appear in my eyes.

"To the end of you!" Toxicroak shouted, bringing the sword above his head as Kaoru shouted out.

"NO!" Kaoru continued to yell as he jumped from the stands into the water, and quickly ran to his brother's side.

"Out of the way, brat!" Toxicroak shouted with Kaoru clutching his brother and shaking his head left and right. "Then you too! Die together!"

Toxicroak made a quick slash downward when the sword suddenly fell out of his hand, and landed over to the other side of the battlefield sticking into the wood. Toxicroak looked all around, and then over to the competitor stands to see me with my mask on, and my hand outstretched with several Shadow Ball attacks prepared. He narrowed his eyes on me, and then showed me the two shears on his sleeves. He chuckled as my face dropped, and then went in to stab both of the brothers.

"Please save us," Kaoru said into his brother's chest with his eyes closed.

"Heh," Toxicroak sounded when he felt something against his arm gripping them tightly. "What?"

The poison Pokémon looked down to see Tori's arm sticking straight up, and his hand gripped completely on the shear, crushing it within seconds. He sat up, and stepped in front of Kaoru, patting his head with his eyes begin to sharpen.

"Do you enjoy it?" he asked as Toxicroak moved back. "Attacking small children because they get in the way of your sadistic game?" he asked with Toxicroak falling backwards and staring up at Tori. "If that's true, you're more of a criminal than I am."

"Who are you?" Toxicroak asked frantically.

"I am Hagane Toriyama," Tori said in full. "Rogue Pokémon. But you should know me by a better name..." he said saying a name under his breath that gave us all chills as I fell to my knees with my eyes completely flooded by tears.

_"...Porygon..."_

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty seven complete. I'm sorry for all of you who thought about the rogue so hard, and I lead you down the wrong path, but there you go. Hopefully, you'll still enjoy my story even after this upset. There are four chapters left for the Japan Arc before I start the new one. Until then, ja nee.<p>

Chapter twenty eight preview: It's Tori, the rogue is Tori. What drove such a solid citizen to a life of crime in the Pokémon world? But what crime did he commit? And how did he come up with this entire identity? These answers and more all coming up in: Deception with Humans.


	29. Deception with Humans

Welcome back, everyone. So how many of you are still recovering from shock? Well, based on the reviews I received, I'd say that's a good number. As we learned last time, Tori is indeed the rogue that we were looking for all along, so who saw that coming...no hands? I thought as much. Well, now we get into the back story of Porygon and see how it all came to this. Hope you're ready to meet the true Mary-sue of this story. And also, after a cursory reading throughout my story, I found that this was more based in drama than I intended, so I am going to change the genre.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 28: Deception with Humans<p>

My eye didn't stop releasing the salty tears that fell from it. And in the end, I was truly powerless to stop any of this from happening. On my knees, I began to pound the ground hoping that it would bring about some sort of rectification for what had occurred. But I knew that nothing I did would change the truth...Tori was the rogue all along, and it was my job to arrest him, and bring him before Arceus. But how could I arrest my...best friend?

* * *

><p>On the battlefield, Toxicroak was still in complete horror after the revelation that Tori was the Pokémon we all knew as one that was never defeated; Porygon. Tori had lost emotion in his eyes, and turned back to his younger brother, Kaoru. Kaoru smiled at him, and Tori returned it as the young child swam back to the stands. Toxicroak watched the boy return to his seat, and then back up at the Porygon who pointed his sword directly at him.<p>

"How can he be so accepting of you?" Toxicroak asked.

"It's simple," said Tori. "Children are so much more manipulative, and accepting of things, as compared to adults. I simply told him the truth; I was a creature he had learned about only in legends, and that I was desperate need of a place to stay, and we concocted a plan together. He was so excited to finally have, as he put it, a person to call 'Onii-san.'"

"And his parents?" Toxicroak said as Tori pointed up to the bell I held in my hands.

"After being alive as long as I have, you pick up on a few trade secrets on the internet," Tori explained. "Hypnosis by use of an item to focus on is child's play compared to concealing one's identity. As for that, I hypnotized myself into believing that I was indeed human. If you are what you think, then everyone else thinks so too. Long term hypnosis though, can also cause small parts of yourself to leak through. As such, my endurance, my intelligence, and my more obvious traits began to show through."

"Such as?" Toxicroak asked as he moved closer to his sword.

"Hair dye can only work for so long," Tori answered cryptically. "Had I known that, I would have applied it more so before Duskull showed up," he said as I cringed. "Black hair dye is good at covering up lighter shades of color, but against a darker shade like blue, it tends to hide itself more easily, and make it seem as though it already is colored. The first day Duskull came to my school, he had already seen that my hair had blue highlights, not realizing it was my actual hair color beginning to seep through."

"How interesting," Toxicroak said as he lunged forward after quickly grabbing his sword.

Stabbing through to Tori, Toxicroak chuckled as the Porygon disappeared from in front of him, and grabbed him by the back of his coat behind him. Lifting him up by nearly a foot and a half, Tori chuckled as a series of electrical currents began to course through his body. His chuckle turned into a maniacal grin as both his, and Toxicroak's body were engulfed in blue electric discharges.

Toxicroak writhed in pain from the electricity, and then stumbled in his getting up after Tori threw him across the battlefield. Charging at him again, Toxicroak held out his other shear, to attack Tori, only for it to be caught straight on. Toxicroak looked at Tori, and saw his shear piercing into his skin, but with no visible damage being done. Tori began to slowly clench his hands around the sharpened part of Toxicroak's clothing, and proceeded to crush it within seconds.

Recoiling back in pain, Toxicroak held his arm, and looked at the rogue as the audience wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Tori instead held out his hand to Toxicroak at the point where it had been pierced, showing a metallic shine healing the wound. Showing off the wound on his back from earlier as well, Toxicroak saw the same metallic shine. The shine only appeared around the wound, and seemed to be either healing or protecting Tori from something.

* * *

><p>"Conversion2," I said by myself. "Only Pokémon from the Porygon evolutionary line can make access to it. After being struck by any kind of move, the attack behaves as an elemental shift, turning the user into the element that can resist the type the best. Toxicroak's Poison Jab made it possible for him to be a steel type for the past ten minutes."<p>

"ITZAL!" Cassandra shouted as she pointed towards Kirlia who looked to be in shock.

I shook off my own problems, hoping to deal with them later, and ran down to where the psychic Pokémon was faltering in her footing. I knelt down next to her, as she was beginning to lose consciousness, and she whispered something into my ear that turned my fear of the kind of Pokémon Tori was, into horror. I walked over to the railing to catch myself as I held my hand over my mouth.

"Itzal, what's wrong?" Cassandra asked as I looked behind me at Kimiko who was still trying to make sense of the situation.

"Kirlia, since coming here, has been shown to be able to calculate a Pokémon's level rank, or percentile, by sensing the brain waves inside of it," I explained. "Kirlia just told me, that she couldn't sense the level rank that Tori's currently at. She can read into any number in the ninetieth percentile, which only leave one number left that Tori can be at."

"Well then it would have to be one hundred, what's the big deal?" Cassandra asked.

"When a Pokémon reaches the hundredth percentile for its level, it reaches its highest power imaginable," I explained. "But very few Pokémon have ever been able to get to that kind of level aside from legendary Pokémon. And Tori also said that he had been alive for a very long time."

"You don't mean," Bayleef said in the back as the other Pokémon stood up.

"He's not _a_ Porygon, he's _the_ Porygon," I said as the syntax made all the difference to them.

"What's the difference?" Cassandra asked.

"Adding 'the' to something's name makes it more prominent, and turns it into a proper noun," Kimiko said still watching Tori intently.

"Exactly," I said. "When Arceus created our world, he made at least two of every Pokémon aside from legendaries, and a Pokémon known as Porygon because of its genetic make-up. Most organic creatures are made of carbon, ghosts are made of ectoplasm, and Porygon is made of a different material; silicon."

"The base semi-conductor in computer chips," Kimiko said from aside.

"Precisely," I agreed. "Being made of such a rare material, Arceus could only make one, and given his level rank, Tori is that Pokémon. Porygon was relatively undiscovered until about the late 1950s, by your world's time. By that time, Tori was the only Porygon in existence."

"How do you know about that?" Cassandra asked.

"It's a story used to frighten young children, and Pokémon at night," Drowzee explained. "We were always told that if we were to misbehave that this Porygon would come, take us away, and do unspeakable things to us despite our pathetic pleas for him to stop. We always perceived Porygon as this blood thirsty beast that had no conscience."

Cassandra turned back to the battlefield, and saw Tori with the most emotionless look on his eyes, and holding up his hands as Toxicroak charged in to attack him again. She furrowed her eyes as she saw him only fight him off, and never willingly go after him as opposed to Toxicroak.

"He doesn't seem so dangerous," Cassandra. "You sure you guys aren't thinking of some other Pokémon?"

"No," Kirlia said struggling to her feet. "The story of Porygon is a famous one, and we all know why he's able to do things beyond his capabilities. In the 1960s, by your world's history, the World Wide Web was developed as packet switch networks to connect from place to place. The entire genetic make-up of Porygon is the same as a computer chip, meaning he can pass through technological devices at will."

"Aside from that, he's able to access any form of information he wants from the device, and can learn how to do anything, whether it be hypnosis, martial art strategies, or salsa dancing for all we know," Lopunny explained further as she sat down next to Zoroark, resting his head in her lap. "But what is more impressive to us than that, is that he's been able to able to hide his genetic code from even Arceus. How was he able to do that?"

* * *

><p>I kept my eyes down on the battlefield, and watched Toxicroak fly across the stage once again. He stood up, pointed an accusing finger at Tori, and asked the same inquiry that Lopunny just had.<p>

"Well," Tori began. "As I explained, the use of hypnosis on myself erased any memories of my being a Pokémon, and as I said, when you forget what you are, people also tend to forget, but as the old adage goes, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'"

"And Arceus?" Toxicroak asked as his determination to beat Tori puzzled me.

"My name in this world is Hagane," Tori reiterated. "When spelled in the right kanji, it can be read as 'metal.' I'll admit it's one of my favorite elements to convert to with Conversion2, seeing as it has all those resistances, but Arceus has a way of peeking into a Pokémon's private affairs, you know."

Toxicroak gritted his teeth, and made another dash at Tori, probably tired of all the mind games he was playing as things started to make more and more sense to me.

_"Tori said that Arceus has a way of knowing what we're up to all the time,"_ I reminded myself as the battle below continued. _"It's something that Arceus can do that no other Pokémon can. No other, except Porygon. That's it, both can change their elements at will, and Tori admitted to having an affinity towards steel. Other pokémon have the capabilities to change their own elements, but that normally involves very specific requisites in terms of weather changes, overall changes in their power fluxes, and a whole mess of others that put Arceus and Porygon on a near equalized plane. But how does Arceus keep tabs on us? Argh, if only Quilava was down here instead of up there with Gallade."_

Toxicroak gripped onto the casing that was his cane, and made a swing towards Tori who made a low dodge. Snapping back up, Tori gave a wide smile that made Toxicroak recoil back with fear, as something began to form in his hand. My mind was still wracking over Tori's cryptic clues when I heard a powerful blast from the battlefield. I regained perception of what was around me, and saw Toxicroak flying past the majority of the battlefield before desperately sticking the cane deep in the ground.

The cane stuck in the ground, but Toxicroak lost his grip, and fell a few feet away from the cane with Tori gripping onto it. Toxicroak chuckled at the sight of Tori swinging the cane around himself so aloofly, and then held his head down waiting for the, as he thought it would be, cries of pain. To his dismay, however, as he looked up, Tori kept the cane in his hand, and then made a quick motion striking Toxicroak across his face.

"H-How can you do that?" Toxicroak asked. "That cane is..."

"Covered in Black Sludge, I know," Tori said sticking it in the ground. "A curious item that only has an effect on the Pokémon that's holding it. It periodically heals the damage of any poison type, but inflicts damage just the same to other Pokémon. Truth be told, I shouldn't be able to hold this because even as a steel type, I'm not protected by it."

"Then how?" the poison Pokémon asked.

"Do you know what Trace is?" Tori asked as he crouched down next to Toxicroak. "It's an ability a lot of psychic Pokémon have, but it's also Porygon's ability, along with Download. Trace copies the ability of a Pokémon that it faces in battle, and being the genius I am, I have perfected the ability."

"What?" Toxicroak exclaimed.

"Oh yes," Tori answered. "I have been with the Magic Guard ability since a few hours before the dimensional cross. Now, if it has nothing to do with direct damage, it has no effect. It's an ability used by Pokémon such as Reuiniclus and Sigilyph, but other than that, it's fairly rare. In the end, my friend, you lost the minute you attacked me."

"It still doesn't answer my question," Toxicroak said just above a dull roar. "How did you fool Arceus?"

_"That answer is now obvious after some thought,"_ I said as though talking to Toxicroak. _"Arceus has sixteen individual plates that allow him to change from type to type. But with them as a medium, he is able to look at any Pokémon who falls under that certain type category. If Tori has been able to stay out of Arceus' sight so far, it's because he's been transforming from normal to steel so that his presence cannot be seen by Arceus. But the only way to pull that off is by..."_

"Having one of the plates of Arceus himself," Tori said finishing my thought waving the large silver plate in front of him. "This way, as long as I remain in a steel form, Arceus can't detect me."

"You dare to steal from the Great Arceus!" Toxicroak shouted, the loudest he ever had as he charged at Tori without fear of consequences.

"How pathetic," Tori said holding out his hand with a swirling mass forming in the palm. "Psybeam," he said as his voice began to lessen, and the mass shot toward the man, blasting back away from both the battlefield, body of water around it, and deep into the stands with several of the spectators unsure of what just happened.

* * *

><p>Toxicroak disappeared from view, and Tori looked out at the spectators. He chuckled slightly as he turned his head toward the higher stands where we were all standing in complete shock of his power. Looking down at his body, and away from his face, I could see Tori's right handing cringing as he faced directly at me as he seemed to turn his glare at me. My turmoil, fear, and sadness suddenly turned into rage, anger, and desire for vengeance. Cassandra could barely catch a glimpse of me as I disappeared into the ground below me with my mask falling over my face. She turned back towards the battlefield, and saw Tori following something with his eyes in the water before holding his hand out towards it, releasing the same attack he had before.<p>

As the attack hit the surface of the water, the entirety of the audience looked at the attacked area with a look of bewilderment. Whether it was the fact that Tori had seen something that they hadn't, the idea that something was going on around them that they couldn't quite understand as of yet, or whether it was the sight of me, the mask covering my face, and my cloak the rest of my body. Tori gave slight chuckle as he leaned up against a piece of the wood in the battlefield sticking straight up after the battle that ensued between him and Toxicroak. My hands already had two Shadow Ball attacks prepared, and somehow, the look in his eyes made me feel as though he already knew my efforts would be less than useless.

"This stops now, Tori," I said, holding my arms out as though I were ready to fight with everything I had. "I won't allow you to sully the name of us, and turn everything into your own little game."

"Since when did you, the one pokémon who vowed revenge against Arceus for everything he had done to us who left through the dimension rift, become his little errand boy?" Tori asked, obviously not taking the situation seriously, as opposed to the turmoil that I still felt in my chest. "Not saying that it doesn't suit you, Duskull. You weren't always the one to let yourself stick to one side for too long."

"What are you saying?" I asked, following him with my eyes as he pushed himself off the stray wooden board, and began walking around the battlefield. "Are you questioning my loyalty?"

"Without a doubt," Tori answered, reaching to the point behind me, but still knew I was aware of his position. "You were once a pokémon who followed after the command of your surrogate father, Dusknoir. Until the day you became cursed by him, and you found yourself without a home for the first time in your life. Following that, any form of alliance you made with any of the pokémon in our world was soon broken after your curse was found out. Then you thought that Arceus could help, be a sort of beacon of light for your dark cloudy world, but then soon found yourself being the one betrayed. And now that he wants your help, you find no problem in becoming his little puppet, dancing to the tunes he plays for you."

"Shut your mouth, you criminal!" I shouted, no longer able to see the boy I met at the beginning of my life in Japan, but now, a man completely evil to the core.

"Am I really the criminal?" Tori asked. "Let me ask you Duskull; did Arceus ever tell you of the day I was discovered by humans? Did he ever tell you about what really happened to the point where there was no lie involved with the story? Did he ever tell you the actual truth?"

"The story is not one that goes unheard of, Tori," I said. "There's not one pokémon in our world that doesn't know of your exploits, and none of them are very thrilled of the stories. Discovered by humans nearly sixty years ago, you found yourself in a very strange position; allow yourself to be studied, or to stand by the side of your comrades and keep the mysteries of the elusive Porygon alive. You chose to side with the humans, and in turn you betrayed even them, turning yourself into a near mass-murderer. Had I known you were one of the pokémon to go through the rift in space, it would've been easier for me to pin you as the rogue and not Toxicroak."

"Toxicroak?" Tori questioned. "Don't make me laugh! That one is nothing more than one of Arceus' stooges, playing to the favors of his beloved king so as to keep his own self from taking the punishment for his own sins. Although, seeing as how Arceus did say that the rogue was from Sinnoh, it makes sense. As for me; you know nothing of what I went through as what I am. There is not any person, nor pokémon, who knows what really happened the first years of my freedom from that stone prison I lived in."

"What do you mean by that, exactly?" I asked, beginning to turn my own body around to keep my eye on him as he moved.

"The story of Porygon is the same at the beginning true, but why don't you allow me to show it to you, and your dearly beloved," he said, turning his eyes to Cassandra, closing them slightly, as she became overtaken by the psychic power coursing through her body, and quickly fainted, limped over the railing. "Welcome, Duskull, and Miss Yorkshire, to the time when I was nothing more than a new discovery."

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes to see that the entire land around was stone walls, and a large depression in the ground in between. Easily identified as an archeological sight, I watched the primitive efforts of the men working to unearth the remains of previously unknown prehistoric pokémon. Working with small shovels and brushes to look carefully at each individual fossil, the men began to work around a giant monolith in the center of the dig. With each brush stroke, the carving in the large slab of stone began to make more sense to me, as Cassandra looked down at the rock, finding it to be nothing more than a series of random shapes. I turned away from her, and saw the final part of the design become clear as the basic design for the pokémon Porygon.<p>

"I was discovered as a living entity of the silicon traces my body was made of in the trenches of that monolith," Tori explained. "I didn't appear from that slab of stone until a week before the dig was going to close, and the research facility working there would've lost all of their assets. I revealed myself willingly to the humans."

"_That_ was your crime?" Cassandra asked. "Simply helping some people out?"

"Arceus is an old fashioned kind of guy," Tori explained, talking directly to her. "He believes that humans have the right to learn about us, but feels that they must go through the trials of learning without our intervention. That was my first charge against Arceus."

"You wouldn't be considered a rogue pokémon, if you were to have any less than that I suppose," I said as Tori just gave a small chuckle. "We were always told of the great destruction you brought to the humans and the pokémon surrounding you at the time."

"Surrounding me is an appropriate choice of words," Tori said as the scene around us began to shift. "This was my home," he said, the three of us now in a pristine laboratory, with the actual Porygon pokémon being studied by the humans, with absolutely no resistance on his part. "The humans' strides in technology were mostly based on studying my physiology. The use of the silicon chip which my body is made of one hundred percent was the most prevelant at that point, however."

"So, where's the destruction?" Cassandra asked as Tori just gave a slight chuckle.

"Arceus quickly found out about what I was doing," Tori explained as a large hoard of pokémon surrounded the building and began firing multiple attacks. "He sent some of his more loyal subjects to bring me forward about the crime I committed several months before. A couple of those faces seem familiar to you, don't they, Duskull?" he asked as I turned around to face the scene and saw, at the front lines, two very specific pokémon species.

The first was a small black figure, his eyes made of two jewels, and his mouth lined with two rows of sharp teeth, perfect for eating its perfect food. To its side stood a figure much more imposing; two red shears at the ends of his arms, large cheeks sacs inflating and deflating as it breathed. The sight of both Sableye and Toxicroak gave me more perspective on the matter, and I was slowly beginning to think that Sableye knew, on this world, who was the rogue from the start. Toxicroak, on the other hand, so filled up with rage wouldn't be able to discern Tori as Porygon because of the measures he had taken to hide himself.

"_Come out, now, Porygon!" _Toxicroak shouted at the door to the facility. _"__Or we're coming in to get you, and believe me, that will be the unpleasant way,"_ he finished, cracking his knuckles to put emphasis in his words.

"_We don't wish to harm you as much as my friend suggests,"_ Sableye said, much more reassuringly. _"__But as it stands, Arceus must speak with you on your actions. If you give yourself up, willingly, it may put in a good word for you when it comes time for the trial."_

We waited for something to happen for several minutes; neither Sableye, nor Toxicroak made any form of attack any more, and the rest of the pokémon behind them had ceased as well. As the doors to the research lab swung open, Toxicroak was quickly met by a blast of psychic energy, forcing him into the midst of the crowd behind him. Sableye turned around to check on his partner's condition, but quickly turned around at the sound of electricity beginning to form behind him. The second Sableye faced Porygon, they were mere inches from each other.

"_Out of my way!"_ Porygon shouted, rocketing past Sableye, and reached the center of the crowd.

As the pokémon surrounded Porygon, relatively quickly, as though they had been planning for a situation like that, the expressionless face of the cyber pokémon quickly looked around at each of the different pokémon about to attack. Studying each of his assailants, Porygon's body began to charge electricity more wildly, Sableye quickly ducked off to the side, and hid behind a large boulder, hoping to ensure his safety in what was sure to come next. With a mere second of silence in between when the charge stopped, and what happened next, my eye was in shock at the power exuded my Tori even sixty years ago.

"Discharge is not an attack that can be escaped with ease," Tori said, finding no remorse for his actions even back then. "A pokémon can go through their entire lives without ever reaching the top level, but there's something different about me in that respect."

"You're not a basic carbon life form," I speculated as Tori nodded. "Porygon can extend their own lives by jumping in and out of cyberspace, preserving them, for what seems like centuries at a time. It's why Tori looks so much younger than the others that his age became when he got here."

"Not only that, but because Porygon have near infinite life spans, it's easy for us to level up to the one hundredth percentile when we really put our backs into it," Tori explained. Aside from that, if we ever were to begin feeling fatigued, it would become like opening a saved file on a computer, bringing us back to a point where we feel we were at our strongest."

"This entire thing is making my head hurt," Cassandra noted as Tori motioned back down for the scene where the attacked had ceased.

"After the attack, all the pokémon affected by it were defeated," Tori explained. "Sableye was able to hide, and in the end we battled for what seemed like hours on end," he continued seeing the multiple shots of basic attack from both pokémon being fired in succession with little fatigue being showed by either one. "But after that, things got to be more chatty, if you will."

"_How can you betray Arceus like that?"_ Sableye asked. _"__What has he ever done to you to make you want to become a human's science project?"_

"_Because with those people, I have an actual purpose in my life again,"_ Porygon answered. _"__There was never a time in my life where I felt like I was actually needed for something. And you know what? I _am_ nothing more than science. I'm the only thing that the humans can look to for answers about how the world around them works, and how they can control it with technology. One day, even the ghost types with their spiritual based beliefs, will find that nothing can ever be fully explained by just believing in something. One day, there will be a ghost pokémon who looks to the elder and no longer ask what something is, but rather why something is."_

"_You're mad!"_ Sableye shouted, preparing another Shadow Ball, and hurling it towards the ground, to kick up a large portion of dirt. _"__This ends now, Porygon!" _he shouted as the dirt seemed to blind Porygon, and Sableye ran towards him with his claws outstretched.

"_You're right,"_ Porygon said as Tori said it at the exact same time. _"__But what ends now is this; the dominion of Arceus!" _he shouted, intercepting Sableye's attack by shooting a concentrated beam of lightning at him.

* * *

><p>At the final attack, Tori's memories began to fade away, and both Cassandra and I were returned to the battlefield. My breathing was labored; there was something about the way that the actual scene of what happened that day played out that made me feel as though there still had to be more. Tori looked down the battlefield at me, and motioned for me with his hand.<p>

"I'm still not done with you, detective," Tori said. "Didn't you say that you were going to have to do your duty as charged to you by Arceus? Besides, you haven't told me one thing; why did Arceus say I was from Sinnoh?"

"It's because of what you can turn into," I explained. "Your evolution reaches from the regions of Kanto, Johto, and then to Sinnoh in your final form. The roots of the Porygon family all trace back to their final form in Sinnoh."

"Yes, and now that you and I are here, about to give the battle of our lives," Tori began, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out something round and reflective. "I believe I need to stack the odds in my favor," he said, holding out the disc to show me the writing decorating its body with the word, "U-P-G-R-A-D-E."

* * *

><p>Chapter twenty eight complete. I know you all want to kill me right now for not updating in a few months, but I think that I can get back on track with this story if I just remember the limits I've placed on myself, then I can get this story back on track, and hopefully finished before this school year is out. So you should all probably be expecting me to finish this story first, okay?<p>

Chapter twenty nine preview: Tori has done the unthinkable, and pulled out the mysterious Upgrade item. What does this mean for Duskull who still has yet to arrest his best friend, and for one of the people watching who's feelings on the matter are still unknown. Next time: Evolution with Humans.


	30. Evolution with Humans

As promised, the next chapter of my Gijinka story. So, really this is the end of the Japan Arc, with the whole situation with Tori, but it won't end for another two to three chapters, and then we get into the next part of the story. That will include a lot of recurring characters, and even some that appeared earlier on in the story that weren't touched on as much as I would've liked. Since it's been a while, I suggest that when you're reading through those chapters that start out the next part of my story, read some of the earlier chapters to get a recollection of some of those people that were there, but not afterwards. So, back to where we were, we have Tori, aka Porygon, pulling out the mysterious Upgrade item and those of us that have played the pokémon games know exactly what that thing does. So, without further ado, let's get this party started.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 29: Evolution with Humans<p>

The shine of the disc in front of me made me feel of two different emotions all at once; one of sheer terror at what Tori was planning, and then anger that he was willing to bring actual, discernible artifacts from the pokémon world. Ever since coming here, it was advised by Arceus that we keep our identities secret, and some of us have really pushed that line when it comes to our actions. Absol would probably agree that I am the single most offender of said infraction, but I digress. Seeing as I had the sworn loyalty of the three humans I trusted that knowledge of our presence, I figured it would have balanced out, but again, there were more pressing matters to deal with.

The series of letters spelling out "U-P-G-R-A-D-E" stared at me in the face, making me wonder if Tori was actually going to attempt an evolution right in the center of the battlefield, amongst approximately a thousand spectators who were already perplexed as it was to figure out what was even happening before them. I shifted my eye to the left and right, trying to find where everything was around me, and keep things from getting too out of hand; more so than they already were. Toxicroak was still unconscious in the support beams of the stands, Shifty and Satoshi were probably out cold in Gallade's apartment, Quilava and Gallade were still in the midst of their battle on the roof above the competitor stands, and for some reason, my eyes fell on Kimiko.

Since coming to Japan, Kimiko always seemed to be a girl who was more insightful, open-minded, and even a little deductive in her reasoning to the point if it came down to choosing one of the two girls I had met that knew of my secret, I would, based on necessity, choose her. But looking up at her, she seemed mesmerized by the sight of Tori as he was; the alternating strands of red and blue hair, his calm and nonchalant demeanor, and his unwavering confidence about his current predicament, having at least thirty pokémon ready to battle him at a moment's notice. There wasn't a look of fear in her eyes as much as there was, ecstasy. Her eyes suggested she was enjoying the fight, and seeing Tori in such a violent state. I turned back to face Tori, who still held the Upgrade in between his fingers, and began taunting me with it as he flipped over, and under his fingers.

"Do you even know how that's supposed to work in this world, Tori?" I asked, still not able to call him by his pokémon species. "It's not as if the Upgrade will magically enter your body."

"You're probably right," Tori admitted, placing it back into his shirt pocket. "We'll just have to save it for when I know how to use it. It's strange when you think about it, however. None of us in this world have tried to evolve. You've been suppressing it since we came here, and now you are well on your way to becoming closer to the very thing you wish will all your might not to be."

"I don't need to rely on a simple evolution to become the strongest I can be," I declared, the two Shadow Balls in my hand ready to be launched. "Even with such a difference in strength, I will defeat you, as charged to me by Arceus. Even if I don't agree with him, I can never agree with a hypocrite like you."

"Hypocrite?" Tori asked. "If anything, I am the only who never changed in my ways, and the way I was presented was never actually false."

"What about those kids?" I asked, Tori giving a small smirk. "After you played that gig at the nightclub with Froslass and the other pokémon, you gave your entire share to that small orphanage, why?"

"Charity isn't something that is in a person's nature, but helps to give themselves a gratifying feeling," Tori explained. "I understand some of the sin I've committed, and I don't claim to be perfect, but my crime was originally interpreted as aiding in the enslavement of pokémon, when in reality, I was giving them information to learn about us. It was never out of my nature to help people, by which I mean humans, and that was never something that I was going to change."

"You know, Tori, I originally thought you were the rogue," I explained as I gave a small chuckle. "But when I saw you give all that money up, I began to wonder if it was possible for a pokémon that was said to be so evil to ever do something for the little guy. I thought you were an honorable man, and now I see that I was wrong," I said, flinging both Shadow Balls from my hands, hurling them towards Tori as fast as I possibly could.

"Humph, like that would actually work against somebody like me," he said, simply holding out his hand, allowing it to absorb the entirety of the attack, crushing both attacks within his grasp. Letting out a sigh, he relaxed back into a hunched position, and looked down the battlefield at me. "You know, I didn't want to have to fight you like this, Itzal," he said, a small spiraling field of electricity extending from his body. "But if I must, then so be it!" he shouted, extending the lightning from his body over towards where I stood.

Seeing the attack coming directly to me, I phased through the floor boards so that I was safely underneath the water of the battlefield. I stayed silent, knowing that Tori probably would have been able to attack me the second he found one thing out of the ordinary with the water currents. I could hear his footsteps above me, they were slow, calculating, but increasingly quieter as he walked which meant one of two things; he was walking away from me, or something a bit more terrifying. I instantly sprang up from my hiding spot, and apparently was just in time for the sudden blast of electrical energy to miss me. Looking out from the splinters of wood all around us, I saw the center of the battlefield had been destroyed, nothing more than a gaping hole where there used to have been a structure.

"It's so strange, you know," Tori said, one of the uplifted boards behind him being used to support him as he leaned against it. "All this time I thought that you would be the one to understand my reasons for my actions the most. You were sent away from your home long before any of those others were, and even after that, you did it with the past hanging over your shoulders, being the one thing that pokémon could only see you for. It's just too sad to think that even after all that time; you're reluctant to see my side."

"Don't compare me to you," I said, my right knee being one of the only things able to support me. "I could never do what you did; I could never make myself into a monster of my own accord. You had your chance at forgiveness, but what I will never be something that can be excused by somebody as ignorant as Arceus."

"You think that you're so special because of that curse, don't you?" Tori asked, pressing his hand down to the ground. "Will you allow me to tell you a story before you continue with your futile efforts?" he asked, me already preparing an Ice Beam in my hand, a small chuckle passing through his teeth. "I'll make it as short as possible then. The mark of the cursed pokémon is only what the oppression of Arceus has coined it; it's no more than a temporarily uncontrollable power, and its origins are much less sinister than what others have made it out to be."

"Are you calling this a blessing, then?" I asked.

"Only if you are willing to see it as such," Tori answered. "A pokémon who is cursed is made only so due to powerful psychic, ghost, dark energy while currently infected with the condition of Pokérus. Essentially, the curse has three different effects of the pokémon; first, in times of powerful stress or supernatural power, the affected pokémon becomes extremely violent. Second, the pokémon has an increased level of power in their strongest apparent stats while under its influence. And finally, the pokémon, upon entering this state is granted something that most can scarcely dream about."

"What are you getting at, Tori?" I asked, my patience definitely growing thinner. "I swear to whatever deity these people worship that if you don't get to your point, I will make sure you won't even be able to speak again."

"Please, your violent efforts are nothing more than waste," Tori said, taking a seat on the wood. "The story of this kind of pokémon as being cursed is merely what Arceus says to make another think of it as such. Back when it was first discovered by my generation of pokémon, we called it an Amplifier and not something as sinister as a Curse. The pokémon that were given such strength were seen as unstable, and had little control over their newfound power, and so Arceus labeled it as a curse, knowing full well that if one of these pokémon were to attack him at full strength, his power would be seen as nothing but a regular pokémon's."

My patience had now gone past the breaking point, blasting the Ice Beam attack towards Tori, the recoil from the attack almost knowing myself off my feet. The attack travelled at speeds I didn't know were possible, but after seeing what happened next, nothing made any sense to me anymore. He was behind me; I didn't need to look, but I knew it. I swung my arm around me, and yet still missed as I could feel him behind me again. This continued for what felt like mere seconds; it wasn't until I looked over at the clock tower visible from my vantage point, and found that he had been toying with me for nearly ten minutes.

"Really, Duskull, you should know by now that I'm too powerful for you to actual be able to damage me," Tori said, a definite mocking apparent in his voice. "Unless I'm correct in assuming that you're holding back for some reason?" he asked, standing on a single foot atop the edge of one of the two by fours uplifted by the previous battle.

"That has nothing to do with this battle!" I shouted, Tori jumping down, only to take a seat on the same edge of the wooden plank.

"Wrong, Duskull," Tori responded. "It has everything to do with it…," he said, his voice growing dimmer as all I had to do was blink, and he had already hit me in the gut with a single fist. "Only you're too blind to see it," he finished, his entire arm coursing with electric power, sending it directly into my body, an expectant look in his eye as I spastically shivered against his attack. "Just think, if you hadn't angered Dusknoir, none of this would be happening to you; too bad," he said, tossing me off his fist and looking down at my unconscious body. "I guess I'll get to hang onto this for a little while longer," he said, playfully taunting me with the Upgrade.

* * *

><p>As he walked away, the name he said continued to echo in my head; nothing more was in my mind than that one name he so casually spouted off at me. Dusknoir. Yes, everything that I had been through up until now had been because of that giant, ignorant pig who viewed me as nothing more than a pawn that would be someday used for an even bigger criminal. Nothing would ever have happened to me like this if it weren't for that pokémon, and maybe Tori was right. But there was still something that vexed me…he was able to beat me so soundly, and that wasn't going to work with me.<p>

As Tori continued down the way towards the exit leading to the waiting rooms, where he would most likely simply leave without a trace, I decided to give him a friendly nudge in that direction, one that I'm sure he must not have been expecting. The single strike of my Ice Beam blasted through to him, forcing him against the wall, and making a slight indentation of the trash that he was into the hard wood. He was about to bring his head out of the wood, but that would have sat well with me, so my hand gave him another friendly push into the wall again; a smile of evil delight appearing on my face.

"So, you're surrendering to the Amplifier?" he asked, turning his head slightly against the wooden wall. "Glad to see that you're not as much of a wimp as I made you out to be," he said, charging his body with electricity, and releasing as much as he could as it coursed through my body as quickly as it could. "How was that?" he asked, opening his eyes, and suddenly looking into my single one in fear.

"That tickled," I said, throwing him back towards the battlefield's direction, but not without giving him a bit of extra altitude for good measure. "This body may have its weaknesses, but to the same attack twice? You obviously are more egotistic than I was hoping. The only question I have to ask is whether or not you think you can still defeat me."

"Perhaps," Tori said, disappearing again, about to appear behind me, but was quickly cut off by my fist, a slight gagging sound apparent in his voice.

"I'm a quick study," I answered despite it being an unspoken question, throwing him back towards the center of the destroyed battlefield. "You should probably just stay right there for the moment, Tori. It'd be better if I didn't have to make this a whole chase thing to hurt you anymore."

"Heh," Tori reacted, my patience about as thin as the broth for those noodles of his. "If you think that my power is limited, you have more than one thing coming to you," he said, reaching into his pocket, the disk in his hand while his grip intensified. "Even after reaching the peak, I can still grow," he said, a tiny crack noticeable in the disk's body. "And now, time for the first evolution on this entire planet!"

* * *

><p>Back in the stands, Kimiko and Cassandra were completely locked onto both of us, but more so on Tori's form, the word "evolution" obviously not carrying the same meaning that they knew it for.<p>

"What did Tori mean by the 'first evolution on this entire planet'?" Cassandra asked, Drowzee walking forward towards the edge of the viewing platform, seeing the Upgrade disk release a shadowy aura that began to extend towards Tori. "What's so rare about evolution?"

"Apparently, evolution on this world comes in the form of gradual change over time on every kind of species," he began, draping his arms over the edge of the railing. "Back where we come from, though, evolution is a very fast-paced, sudden process that comes from reaching a certain requirement. The majority of pokémon evolve from reaching a certain level, which Duskull can currently do, but is constantly suppressing it, but in the case of Porygon, his is much more specific. A certain species of pokémon can sometimes evolve with the help of a specific item that bonds with their genetics and changes their overall makeup, changing it into something else. No pokémon stays the same after an evolution, and this will hold true to any of us if we decide to do so."

"I remember Hanna saying something that Kazan can't evolve, though," Cassandra responded. "Something about an Everstone?"

"There are always exceptions to the rule," Drowzee stated. "But what Tori is going to attempt to do may be a very painful process in a human form. Essentially one of two things will happen; either his body will grow, or shrink, but the first is the most likely. Everything about this human form; his bone structure, internal organs, and everything about his physical structure will change within mere seconds," he said as the Upgrade disk completely shattered in Tori's grip, the shards turning into the same dark aura surrounding his body.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Kimiko asked, looking down at Tori as the wafting shadows began to enter inside of his body. "And how much will he actually change by?"

"That is not up for me to tell you," Drowzee answered. "All I can tell you is…be ready to hear him scream," he said, a loud shout being heard from the battlefield where Tori stood, my shining red eye gleaming with delight at the sight of him in such intense pain.

* * *

><p>Seeing the shadows of the Upgrade surrounding Tori, it was difficult to make anything out of what was happening to him, but all I could make out was the systematic tattering of his current wardrobe. It looked almost as if he were stretching out of them, as opposed to them simply shredding on their own. His shouting out of pain still filled the stadium, many of the spectators covering their ears, despite the sounds being such sweet music to my ears, but then I noticed something beginning to change in the way he looked. As I looked inside the small barrier made by the Upgrade's power, I could see that his hair was beginning to change in the shades of its respective colors by turning slightly dimmer, meaning, to me, that his evolution was a success. As the shadows dissipated from around him, Tori's clothes had seemingly been repaired; but like his hair, his blue colored shirt now much darker in color, as was his neck tie, looking more like a maroon color as opposed to the original color. His hair was now reaching down past the base of his neck straight down, several of the strands in his face, and he was now much taller, almost to my height.<p>

"So, this is the result of my evolution?" Tori questioned, turning over to me, a definite sneer coming across his face as he saw me take a fighting stance, the curse still granting me its intoxicating power. "Let's have a test run," he said, running across the ground, gripping onto the hilt of his sword as he did.

Making a single slash over towards my body, I simply melted into the wood, safely disappearing into the shadow underneath my victim. Seeing this new form of Tori made me question whether my evolution would be such a harmful thing to me or not, seeing the obvious perks. The only thing I wasn't too keen on by this point was seeing how many of the female spectators were already fawning over Tori, given his more chiseled visage. Reaching his hand out into thin air, a box shaped cap quickly appeared in his hand, the bill the same maroon shade of his hair, and the same navy blue color as the color for the rest of the hat. Flopping it onto his head, Tori simply looked directly downward at me, knowing where I was, and stabbed the sword directly downward into the wood, despite there being no actual effect on my body.

"Don't think you can fool me, Duskull," he said, a definite power flux passing through the sword, still having no direct effect on me, but as soon as I saw the electricity travelling through the metal blade, I immediately blasted out of there, and towards the center of the battlefield in the air. "Strange," Tori said, pulling the sword out of the wood, the lightning still coursing through it. "I place my sword as though to attack you, and you see that as the only thing that could be possible for it. You have to look at the big picture, Duskull," he said, pointing it directly towards the spectator stands. "Or are you going to be able to live with the idea that this side of you can live with seeing that girl destroyed?" he asked, as my eye began to lose its glowing hue, and quickly realize his target.

"_Cassandra!"_ I shouted in my head, seeing Tori shot a concentrated attack of lightning towards the spectator stands, almost directly at Cassandra and Kimiko, both of them too dazed to even know what was going on. _"Please let me make it on time,"_ I pleaded, rocketing into the air, a Shadow Ball already prepared for the attack after I came in front of the attack I could only know as Zap Cannon, slow moving as it may have been, it was still effective should it actually hit.

Launching the Shadow Ball at the front of the attack, I prayed to whoever I could have that it would keep both of those two safe, but after my and Tori's attack were about to collide, the impossible seem to happen right in front of my eyes. The attack was moving, and not just in a simple direction off to a single side, but it was swerving around my own attack. Exploding in the water, my Shadow Ball had missed Tori's Zap Cannon, the curse's influence no longer over me, but now I had a new problem to consider, who the real target was for the Zap Cannon.

I had mere seconds to figure that out, but then it hit me like a back of rocks. The attack was able to change its direction in a malleable, almost intelligent way, making it look like it was sentient…or targeting something specifically. The attack that Tori used when he "stabbed" me was a Lock-On attack to make sure any attack he used next would undoubtedly hit, and he shot it at both Kimiko and Cassandra to force me into making a choice; either have it explode in my face now, and maybe risk it exploding in someone else's face, or the last option.

"_Let it hit only me,"_ I said, sky rocketing into the air, the attack swerving upward, barely scraping the very edge of the wooden railing. As I continued to travel through the air, I turned my sight towards both Gallade and Quilava still continue their battle, giving me an idea to pay back for what that scumbag did to Satoshi.

Changing my direction almost instantly, I flew as fast as I could directly towards the two's battle, Quilava in mid-attack before he saw what I was about to do. Nodding in understand, he instantly ceased his attack, jumping off of the hitman's shoulders, and back down towards the stands, Gallade simply free falling back towards the spot, had I not picked him up first. Holding him securely by the arms, I turned myself around towards the Zap Cannon, Gallade struggling to free himself, but then looking up at the close proximity to the attack. Pressing the spot where I had been marked directly against Gallade, giving the attack no choice, but to attack the psychic and fighting type first. With Gallade taking the entirety of the attack, his body spastically shuddering after it had ceased, I dropped him back down to the ground, and flew back towards the battlefield.

* * *

><p>As I flew back over towards the battlefield, Tori was still in the same spot as before, almost waiting for me as though he knew I would find a way around the Lock-On. Resting as though he were on a hammock in between two planks of wood, Tori looked up at me, and waved as though he thought we were still friends.<p>

"You're more impressive than I originally thought," Tori said up to me, as I landed in front of both Kimiko and Cassandra. "I had figured you'd have figured a way out of my little present in at least ten minutes, but you beat it in four, so that calls for some kind of commendation. I'd hate to say it, though, but you did slightly lower the bar that I was hoping you would achieve. Gallade certainly wasn't worth the effort it took to defeat him so soundly, or could it be that the girl's father still has a bit of influence on you?"

"How can you speak of Kimiko's family that way?" I asked. "Hasn't she been your friend this whole time?" I asked as Tori looked off to my right to see Kimiko looking down at him intently.

"I would be lying if I told you that my time spent with Kimiko was nothing if not enjoyable," he admitted. "But it would seem that such moments, even in my own immortal life, are fleeting. The two options I have are to have you take me to Arceus, or simply run away from my life in Japan. Personally, I like the sound of the second one the most."

"Then what about Kaoru?" I asked, jumping down from my perch, the name of his little brother making Tori turn around towards the young spectator, the longing look in his eyes making him turn back around, barely able to face me in the eye. "Or what about those kids at the Fujimoto Orphanage?" I asked, Tori freezing in place. "They all looked like they needed you. A whole heck of a lot more than you need to be free. Do you really want to be able to look at those kids from afar, and know what they think of you? Do you want them to think of you as a coward, who couldn't accept his fate? Or are you going to do the honorable thing, and just give yourself up?"

"You know, despite not being a people person, Duskull, you really have a way with words," Tori said. "But you are right; the life I have here is too important for me to just give up without them looking at me with a longing in their eyes of wondering where I went."

"So does that mean…?" I began to ask, Tori beginning to walk towards me, his hands held out, as though to symbolize what I figured would be surrendering.

"Yes," Tori said, ready to give himself up. "I have to protect this life of mine!" he shouted, a sudden Zap Cannon being shot from the end of his sword, blasting it from the end of the battlefield to where my body was, not enough time to dodge. "If somebody is going to protect these people that I live with, I don't care how they view me, just so long as I can do what I know how to do best for them!" he said, my body falling into the water surrounding the battlefield, barely able to move from the sudden paralysis from the attack. "My apologies, Duskull. I had hoped you would have been able to understand," he said, jumping into the air, the scabbard for his sword rocketing out of the rubble of the battlefield.

* * *

><p>My body was sinking, and I could move. Arceus had warned us so many times before that our own mortality would be inevitable should the situation arise. Even as a ghost type, I was going to die, making this all the more ironic for me. I opened my single eye, and watched as my eye patch floated to the top of the small lake.<p>

"_In the end, I couldn't keep Tori from forcing an evolution to Porygon2, I could get him to give himself up, and most of all, I couldn't protect what I thought was the most important thing…our friendship,"_ I said, closing my opened eye, not aware of somebody coming down in after me.

Pulling me to the top of the lake, and onto the rubble of the battlefield, checking for any signs of my breathing, Cassandra began to push against my chest, trying to force the water out of my system. Making one last push against my chest, I could feel almost an entire stream of water passing through my throat, and out of my mouth. Sighing out of relief at the sound of my coughing, Cassandra wrapped her arms around me as my cloak, mask, and everything else that made me the Duskull that I was had already retreated back into my coat.

"Where's Tori?" I asked, Cassandra looking out towards the festival grounds. "In the end, he tricked us, huh?" I asked as Cassandra simply nodded, making me look up towards the viewing stands. "Two things; how were you able to jump from that height, and what happened to Kimiko?"

"My grandfather wants me in the Olympics at some point in my life, and I think Kimiko went after Tori," she said, as I let out an exasperated sigh, tying the ends of my eye patch back onto my face. "Do you think she'll be able to talk some sense into him?" she asked.

"No, we'll need everyone's help," I said, placing my hand next to my ear, waiting for a response from somebody with the transceiver that Cofagrigus had given me. "Anyone who can hear me, and still fight, please listen, and follow me instructions to the letter. Porygon2 has escaped from the tournament grounds, and it would appear he's trying to hide out somewhere. Go in groups of at least three or more to try and track him down so we can make sure to catch him. With luck, the only chance we'll need is the first one we get. Proceed with caution, Kimiko may be going to find him, try not to endanger her life as well. The last thing we need is the blood of a human on our hands," I said, looking back over at Cassandra. "Here's hoping they can do it."

"HEY!" a raspy voice shouted from across the small body of water. "If anyone's getting the drop on that pile of trash, it's going to be me!" Toxicroak said, walking out from the attack Tori had given him. "Nobody gets away with attack me twice, so just this one time, I'll consider helping you out," he said.

"Thank you," Cassandra said, Toxicroak barely able to look in her direction, a small smile appearing on my face.

"_Just you wait, Sableye, soon we'll bring the one who did this to you to justice," _I said, unaware that in the hospitable bed that Sableye was supposedly sleeping in was now empty, the nurse looking around frantically for her patient. _"And soon this will all be over for us."_

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><p>Chapter twenty nine complete. Finally! I was able to get this chapter done. I don't know why I can write ten thousand word chapters easily, but for some reason a chapter half of that seems to be vexing to me. Maybe it's the OCD. Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and know that the conclusion to the Japan Arc is coming all the nearer so the adventures with Itzal and Cassandra can soon continue. I'm torn right now, though between making this my top priority or another story, I mean I want to finish this story, but we'll have to see how things work out.<p>

Chapter thirty preview: Tori's on the loose. As a newly evolved Porygon2, he has more than enough power to blow away just about any of the pokémon here, but will he have the heart to attack the one thing that may have saved his entire life in this world? Or will he simply succumb to the new power he has finally obtained. Next time: Sharing with Humans.


	31. Sharing with Humans

Hey, guys, NightFall here with the next chapter of my Gijinka story. So, with the last chapter a few things were revealed about the story itself, which is different for my current writing style, in terms of the sequence of information being given, and that is on the subject of pokémon evolution, which is still in effect throughout the world. The only downside is that the current line-up of pokémon is either fully evolved, or unable to evolve due to reasons either of species, or in Kazan's case, a past experience. So, Tori evolved into a Porygon2, and is now somewhere in the school festival hiding from the rest of the pokémon, and that's where we pick things up today. Also, as a side note, I'm thinking of having a little side story in the near future with some of the other characters in the story as the main focus for a simple story, stuff like one of Blaziken's parkour adventures, or maybe some of the times in Meowth's sushi shop. Let me know what you think so I can have just a bit more fun with some of these characters. Oh, something you should know about this chapter; it is told from Tori's point of view this time.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 30: Sharing with Humans<p>

Humans have always seemed to fascinate me. Even back on my own world, the strange creatures that were able to form words aside from their own designation were a wondrous and beautiful thing to behold. True, the oppression of Arceus had forced a common view of humans as the enemy to us, but even back then when I still trusted the deity, I believed that there was much about humans that we had yet to learn about. They're much more intelligent than they seem; but one does draw certain conclusions from some of the more idiotic things that amuse them. They're able to understand emotions, draw conclusions of their own, and even make it seem to others that what they truly care for is something that they act indifferent towards. I am proud to say, and would be even more so if I was staring into Arceus' cold dead eyes, that my time spent with humans has always been the most enjoyable, but alas, with the perception of my actions, it is impossible to actually move past what I've done.

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><p>I was simply hiding in one of the more secluded areas of the school from my friend, Itzal. Thought I should give all of those pokémon out there, running around like chickens with their heads cut off a bit of a freebie, and be somewhere obvious. I say it's a secluded area, but in reality, it was my classroom; a very simple room where people all day long would speak to each other, and act as though nothing around them made any difference to them. I guess it's true what people say, ignorance <em>is<em> bliss. The lights were turned off, and the darkness of the room blanketed over me, making my hair almost look as though it were black, and the thoughts of my first day were beginning to run through my mind as though they were trying to win a prize.

I must've looked distant that day, my newly colored hair, thanks to my surrogate bother, Kaoru, a shiny black; kinda like those military shoes that you see people wear that pretty much blind you when you walk down the street, but I digress. I really didn't want to talk to anybody that day, and if I truly wanted to have it my way, I wouldn't have talked to anybody at all. I tried to look as normal as I could so that I wouldn't attract attention, but a sudden revelation came to me; any time a transfer student comes to Japan, it pretty much makes everything else around the others disappear.

Their eyes were locked on me, and I really couldn't care less about it, to me, they were all the same, a living human with their own idiosyncrasies being their masters. To me, they were as beautiful and diverse as the people I had met back on my world, all with their own unique story to tell, but sadly, I knew I wasn't going to be able to indulge in such sweet sorrow.

I simply bowed to everyone after writing down my full name, and waited for anyone to react to what I did in the slightest manner. As I began to bring my head up from my bow, I heard a small giggle in the back of the room; a girl with faded green eyes and raven black hair reaching to the center of her back in long, almost beautiful curls. She seemed to be amused by something that I did, and I was more than a little confused by her meaning, but my knowledge of human interaction was limited at best.

"My name is Hagane Toriyama," I said to the class. "Due to reasons I'm not willing to disclose, I'm transferring to your class. Nice to meet you all," I said, the teacher congratulating me on the introduction, and directed me to a seat directly two seats away from the girl who seemed to find me humorous in some way.

"You can take that seat, I'm sure Miss Katsugumi would be more than willing to be a sort of guide to you while you get used to the school," she said, looking down the way to the girl who seemed pleased with the idea itself.

"You got it!" this Miss Katsugumi said, raising her hand as I walked down the aisles of desks, and pulled my seat back from behind me, sitting down with my legs propped up against the desk. "Hello, Tori-kun, my name is Kimiko, but you can just call me Kimi if you want," she said, extending her hand to me in greeting, and waited for me to take it.

"'Tori?'" I questioned, not sure if I had heard her right, extending my hand over the empty desk next to me, and taking hers, shaking it a couple times. "Why'd you call me a name like that?" I asked, the system of nicknames being a part of human behavior that has always seemed to perplex me.

"Well, there aren't any cute names I can call you with your first name, and I think the name Toriyama is kind of weird, so I've decided to call you Tori, if you don't mind," she explained, the thought of having this pet name became less and less of an actual burden, and became something that I thought I could get used to. "I think I like the name Tori rather than your actual name, though. So, if you don't mind, we could all call you Tori," she said, the context of "we" and "all" not making much sense to me, but human behavior was one of the few things I was clueless about, that and hydrolysis, but that's for another reason entirely.

"What do you mean by 'we'?" I asked, Kimiko giggling a bit as she looked out at the class, all of their eyes currently on me. "So, what, are you guys all some kind of cell based organism? One person here is the nucleus, and the others simply acting as the parts of the cell that support the different functions?" I asked, and I was sure that Kimiko's brain was about fried by now. "Let me try a different way of putting that," I said, my memory banks scanning through everything that might have applied. "Okay, try thinking of a pyramid of oranges," I began, a picture becoming clear in both of our heads. "Pyramids and buildings can be described as single cell based organisms because they both consist of structures with specific parts having their own purpose. If one of those things were to be taken away, like one of the oranges from the side of the pyramid, the entirety of the pyramid would collapse. In the same way, this class seems to all centers around people with their own function, right?"

Obviously that explanation had worked, given the smoke form Kimiko's fizzled brain had dissipated and she seemed to be able to understand it more. The teacher was looking at the two of us, and I could see a small glimmer in her eye as my way of explaining it seemed to satisfy her. She began class, and somehow didn't bother with asking me any questions, probably guessing that I already knew the answers without much thought; smart woman.

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><p>My first class ended, and it seemed like a race to see who get to my seat first; I really should have seen it coming from all the manga I downloaded into my memory. Although, nothing that I tried to reference in any of those novels seemed to be preparing for anything like what I saw next. Kimiko was standing in their way in front of me, holding her arms out to her sides, almost as though she were protecting me. My mind was racing through my internal database, searching for some kind of reference of this ever happening in my life…there was nothing. Not even a single instance where somebody would put themselves, per se, in harm's way for me. Had it been because I was nothing more than a silicon base life-form, or was it because I was labeled a criminal where I came from? Whatever the reason, Kimiko sticking her neck out for me was something that I would never forget, no matter how long I lived, which, knowing me, would be a very long time.<p>

My confusion continued throughout the day, by which point, many of my new classmates were much more cautious of coming over my way. Kimiko was either one of three words I had learned just before coming to this world; either she was overfriendly, meaning she wished to have herself be my only friend, overprotective, meaning she wanted to keep me from what would happen if any of those people got to me, or overbearing, doting on my every move, placing everything to memory. She was an interesting girl to say the least, if not a creepy one, but what I didn't know is that she would become my greatest asset to my plan.

After some time, all of the students began stretching in their seats, bringing out different colored boxes, filled with different food contents meaning that it was probably time for their afternoon break for lunch. This may have been the one thing that I hadn't anticipated for my plan; how was I going to keep up my façade of being a human if I never ate anything while they were around. My current cover was the eldest son of one of the committee members for this school, so seeing me without an intake of nourishment might draw suspicions of the family I had adopted. Kimiko looked off to the side, noticing a more nervous look on my face, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was about to offer me some of her food, but before she could, the door slid open, ending with a quiet slam, and what seemed like my saving grace stepped into the room.

"Ah, Onii-chan!" Kaoru shouted happily as he ran into the room, directly at me, holding up two stacked boxed lunches alleviating my current concerns. "I figured you forgot your lunch today, so mom had me bring this to you," he said, offering the top one to me. "How's it going so far?" he asked me, his words obviously carrying more meaning than what he had said at face value.

"Hey, Kaoru, I need to talk to you for a bit, okay?" I asked, walking out of the classroom, my "brother" following behind me, Kimiko left blindsided by the abrupt interruption to her plan.

In the hallway, I noticed that Kaoru had caught up with me, trailing behind me by a few feet, still holding both of the boxes as we entered one of the restrooms. Showing him in first, I looked on both sides of us, closing the door behind me, locking it instantly with a small electric spark. Letting out a sigh of relief, Kaoru gave me a confused look that prompted an explanation for my actions; understandably so, given the circumstances between us.

"Thanks for helping me with this, Kaoru," I said, accepting the green colored box, placing it above the sink, and looking at myself in the mirror. "Do you really think this disguise is working so far? I can still notice finite details we may have overlooked when we colored my hair last night. Some of my blue hairs are still showing through, and I'd rather keep us from having to deal with anybody getting suspicious of me. The only consolation is that these contacts are still working," I said, taking out the blue colored contacts, my left eye still the same color, just a bit lighter, but my right eye a pink color.

"I'm pretty sure that no one's going to look that closely at your hair, Onii-chan," Kaoru said; I knew he was right, but I couldn't help being the paranoid pokémon I was. "So, why do you really need all this help from me?"

"Where I come from, Kaoru, I don't look like this," I said. "I'm not human like you are, Kaoru. I'm not even really organic like most of the species that live on my world. I consist of complete silicon atoms which allow me to control any form of advanced technological device, even so far as to pass through it. But, nevertheless, I am not like you, so I need you to help me figure out how I should be acting. My database on human behavior is small."

"So…what do you look like?" he asked; I knew it was a question that would come up sooner or later, given the child's curiosity. "I want to know you the best, Onii-chan. So will you please show me what you used to look like?"

"I can only draw a faint picture, but we'll see if I can," I said, grabbing a pencil from my pocket, taking a small sticky note with my name on it from the lunch box, and drew out my pokémon form; the different geometric shapes combined to look something of an avian with no wings with the pointed snout.

"So this is really you?" Kaoru asked, looking at the picture with as much detail as I could muster with these strange hands I now had. "Wow, I can't believe I really have an alien for an older brother. I really wish I could tell at least somebody about this; they would totally flip out if they knew about it."

"Yeah, they would also have you committed into a psych ward for possible signs of delusions and schizophrenia," I said directly after, looking back down at the lunch box now in my hand, opening it up, and seeing it pretty much filled with only one food item…ramen, and now the professional kind, the instant kind. "Kaoru? What is this?" I asked, shuffling through the soup with a pair of chopsticks attached to the side.

"Mom can't cook to save her life, so she always just gives us some already heated instant ramen, and hopes we can't tell the difference," Kaoru explained. "It's not bad, really, but it just kinda goes to show that a woman who grew up in a privileged lifestyle shouldn't be in charge of the kitchen. Just be grateful that you'll be living on the dorms, and you'll have your own way of getting lunch as opposed to me having to deal with this for the next few years."

"I don't know," I responded, clapping my hands together, my box completely empty directly next to me. "It ain't that bad; I could get used to that concoction. I'm guessing it ain't that great for you, though. I remember somebody saying that if something tastes good, then it probably isn't good for your nutrition."

"Well, the old version of this stuff used to have some Trans fat in them, which I have no idea what they are, and now the big issue with them is the sodium content. I don't understand what the big issue is, though," he said, slurping up his own noodles.

"Sodium is generally used to maintain a fluid balance in the human body, helping to regulate the hydration of one's cellular structure, making it necessary to have it in your system to keep from overheating due to a lack of sweat," I said, not even thinking; my database must've been on the blink. "Having too much, however, can lead to high levels of blood pressure, making it possible to develop liver, heart, or kidney disease."

"So, are you trying to keep them all for yourself by saying that?" Kaoru asked, a small chuckle passing by both of our mouths until we realized that we were still in the restroom of the school. Needless to say, it didn't take us long to bolt out of there, thankfully nobody catching us as we left for our respective classes, but something told me something was still looming over me; watching me as I would try to live my days out in peace away from Arceus and the rest of those oppressors.

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><p>It wasn't until the present time that I realized that somebody had always been watching me since I came here. My disguise, my eventual hypnosis, and my cover as part of Kaoru's family was perfect, except to somebody's prying eyes, allowing them to see what should have been there in the first place. Every time I would turn to see somebody, she would be there. There was never a time when that wouldn't be the case, and I could always count on Kimiko being there to horn in on my business. It's why I believe two things; one, that she knew about pokémon the first day I was in the school, and was waiting for another to show up to confirm it, and two, that she was standing right behind me, longing for me to turn around to acknowledge her in the doorway.<p>

"How long have you been standing there, Kimiko?" I asked, the brunette reacting slightly at my being able to notice her, despite having my back turned to her. "Quite taken with my new appearance, aren't you? I must say, having grown several inches, I can see why Duskull likes his form. Being as tall as what your age suggests is much more rewarding than I had originally thought," I said, turning around, only to find that she was crying. Tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared into my differently colored eyes. "I figured you'd be scared."

"I'm not scared of you, Tori," she said, my nickname passing through my ears, surprising me how she was still calling me. "I want you to tell me the truth, and then I'll gladly let you leave from here so Itzal doesn't have to arrest you. When you told me that your time here was enjoyable, but was fleeting nonetheless. Did that mean that you actually enjoyed you time with me, or was it fooling me about who you were that made it all the more fun?"

"When I came here, I cared for nothing," I said casually, taking a seat on the windowsill. "Even that little boy, Kaoru, I used him as nothing more than pawn to keep my identity safe. He was more than willing to help me out since he could finally say that he had an older brother. You had nothing to do with me when I came here, but took it upon yourself to keep me from being bombarded that first day with questions from your classmates. I never understood why you did that, and even today I'm not sure of why."

"It was because…," she started as she saw me hold my hand up to keep her from speaking.

"I have but one theory," I said, pulling the bill of my hat out of my eyes, to show her the colors of the irises. "To you, it mattered little that I was new, exotic, mysterious, lonely, or anything that might have triggered those feelings in another person. All that mattered to you was that you were given a job to do; you were supposed to take care of me while I was getting used to the school, and you decided to show me the good parts of the school so that I would stay here longer. You gave me a pet name, you told me that you wanted me to look at you as a friend, but most of all you told me something later that day I first came here that made me think about how I should view the people who help me."

"You remember what I said that day?" she asked, blushing slightly at the thought of my remembering something from all those months ago.

"You told me, that day when I came back from my talk with Kaoru, something that always had me perplexed until I began to realize why people do things," I began. "You told me that, 'A decent man helps out and expects nothing more than a thank you, or some kind of small token of appreciation, but the better man is able to help another without expecting anything in return. Their reward is the smile on another's face.'"

Kimiko's tears finally stopped, a light breeze falling into the room, blowing the ends of my hair along with hers towards the doorway. She looked back at me, unafraid of what I would say next, and truth be told, I don't even know if she wanted me to say anything else, but I knew I had to. Maybe there was still a chance for my more "human" side, per se, and right the only wrong I ever committed in this world, which was to her.

"Kimi," I began, finally calling her by the name she wanted me to call her by since I first came here. "There's something I do want to tell you about something I did to you on that same day. You were about to offer your lunch to me when Kaoru came in to talk to me, and I left you in that room alone, the only thing going through your mind must've been how heartless I was."

"You weren't being heartless," she tried to say before I cut her off again.

"For my last meal in this place before I have to leave, will you at least treat me to one of the items in that box?" I asked, taking her hand, the back of it facing up at me as I brought my lips down to it. "If I could have that one pleasure, I may be able to leave without any regrets, and live in this world with that taste the only thing in my mouth ever again. Will you grant me this one wish?" I asked, looking up at her, her eyes once again filled with tears as she wiped them from her cheeks, nodding in agreement.

"I'll be right back; don't go anywhere," she requested as she left the room, and my smile slowly dimmed before bringing my hat back down over my eyes.

"…How long do you intend to hide from me, Sableye?" I asked, the tall, lanky figure appearing out of the shadows. "When do you wake up from your coma? I expected you to stay there for at least another couple of days, unless there was another reason for your quick recovery."

"You never had me in that comatose state," he said, holding out his hand, several sharp claws extending from the ends of his fingers in a shadowy form. "I was lying in wait for the right time to strike back, and make sure that Duskull takes you back to Arceus to answer for your crimes. Porygon2, your evolution may have granted you power, but I have been waiting to take you back before him for too long. Please come quietly, and I will not have to hurt you."

"Heh, yes you will," I said, immediately twisting on a single foot, the sheathed sword in my hand striking him across the stomach, a trail of electricity following after the wide slash. "It's the only way you can hope to keep me from having my last wish fulfilled," I explained, already knowing who was around me.

"Did you expect me to come alone?" Sableye asked, snapping his fingers as one of the figures from the shadows in the corner of the ceiling jumped down at me, her claws extending towards me, Sneasel fully prepared to attack me.

As she slashed down at me, all I could see was her silver colored eye staring at me blankly before I simple took a step to the side, unsheathing my blade, and shooting an alternating red and blue beam directly at the dark type, blasting it against the wall adjacent to the window looking out. Hearing a sudden movement to my right, I jumped into the air, seeing the pitch black arm of Cofagrigus trying to attack, able to look up at me only for as long as it took to shoot a Zap Cannon downward from the very tip of my sword.

Forcing him down into the ground, and eventually through the floorboards, I could barely make out Cofagrigus' silhouette before placing both the scabbard and sword to my sides to keep both Zoroark and Lopunny from being able to attack me at the same time. Suspended in the air for several seconds from the incredible pressure both were boasting, I began to send an electrical charge through my body, to the metal blade of my sword, and across the metal framing of my scabbard. With the completion of the electrical discharge, both pokémon launched from my sides, and into the corners of the room, Sableye already standing up, ready to fight.

"You know how this will end," I said, holding up just the blade of my sword to where Sableye was standing, bringing it above my head, ready to slash downward, but then quickly turned around to clash directly with the metal helmet of the Aggron I had seen fight earlier. "So, it seems you were ready for anything," I noticed, the female steel type doing its best to force me across the room, but to no avail, another electrical charge coming across my body.

All I could hear was the constant sound of electrical volts rubbing together, producing a deafening noise to any who might have heard it, Aggron's screams inaudible until I ceased the attack, hearing the noise for a mere second before she too fell to my attack.

"That's five pokémon already," I counted, noticing all of the pokémon currently defeated. "There were thirty one other occupants in the tournament, with at least another nine pokémon in the stands. Which means that are still thirty five pokémon that I need to defeat in order to get away from this place, or are do you have something else planned for me?"

Sableye was in shock, he saw at least four pokémon defeated around him in the room, and one down below the wooden structure of the school itself. That was all that was in his group, at least that was my guess. There were no other presences to be sensed around the room, leaving me with only him to deal with…again. I made the first move, Sableye snapping out of his trance, blocking the slash of my sword with his Shadow Claw attack. Clinging for dear life against my strike, I noticed that he was still in no shape to fight, a small smirk coming across my face, after noticing a small falter in his stance.

Simply taking a single step forward, Sableye's stance began to weaken again, his attack barely able to keep itself from wavering, giving me the perfect opportunity. Giving a single sweeping motion with my foot, Sableye's feet gave out from underneath him, and he was on the ground, no longer protected by his claws, and now staring down the edge of my sword. I gave a near evil smirk as I stabbed straight ahead. Letting out an exasperated breath, Sableye was in near shock at seeing the sword only going as far as to stab through a small clump of his hair, letting out even more deep breaths, trying to keep from fainting.

"You will never be able to catch me if you can't even match me in battle," I said, turning on a single foot, seeing all six pokémon that had come after me defeated, and barely able to stand, leaving me with nothing to do but wait for one of two things to come; either more pokémon, or my final wish to be fulfilled.

I sat down at the doorway of the classroom, deciding not to show off my handiwork to Kimi, but knew that it would definitely be a topic that we would be discussing if she had anything to say about it. I waited for what seemed like an eternity, but after maybe about half an hour, I could hear the faint sound of footsteps frantically travelling closer. I didn't react; I knew whose they were. The continual, and deliberate clomping against the hardwood with their shoes, and the careful steps they took to make sure everything would keep from turning into something of a disaster.

"Looks like lunch will have to wait," I said, standing up calmly as I looked up at the ones walking towards me, not surprised by the faces staring down at me. "Looks like it's time for this battle to end, and finally allow me to have my own destiny, don't you think so…Duskull."

"It would appear so," he said, pulling down the face of his mask down over his face, his trench coat flapping violently until it had become his cloak, making it almost impossible to notice who he had become. "While it may pain me to say this, Tori, you are now under arrest by order of the one we both regretfully serve."

"You may think that that may be the case," I said, holding my sword at the ready, seeing Absol, Quilava, Meowth, Blaziken, Bayleef, Swampert, Glaceon, Abomasnow, and Flygon all staring me down behind Duskull. "But I know one thing to be true; when I make a promise to another person I have to keep it, and I will receive that love from her one more time," I finished, the battle well overdue, and ready to ensue.

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><p>Chapter thirty complete. So how many of you think that my current public image has become somewhat better given that I was able to come out with two new chapters for this story in the past two days? So, with this chapter, the final battle between the pokémon and Tori is ready to begin, and I have to say, even I have no idea how this is going to play out. Hopefully you all enjoyed the look into Tori's past with Kaoru and Kimiko, and hopefully the short battle sequence was enough to hold you off for the heavy dialogue in this chapter. With this next chapter, which I cannot promise will be written with the same speed, the battle will either be finished or almost finished, and the end of the Japan Arc will come within the next two chapters, to which I am calling the next one "Turning Back." Also, like I said above I have plans for a series of one-shots with the other characters of this story just so that they all get their own time in the spotlight. This would be a preview for one of the ones I really want to do involving the character Nyaro (Meowth) from comicfan616.<p>

"After receiving a strange message from a woman searching for her yakuza husband, Nyaro and Missy are on a detective hunt of their own that takes them well into the world of lies, unfaithfulness, and the more terrifying world of the yakuza that Nyaro has so intensely vowed to destroy. But with a mysterious assassin following after them, the thought of actually coming out of this unscathed becomes less and less likely."

Let me know what your thoughts are on the subject of this story series, and maybe it will become a reality.

Chapter thirty one preview: The final battle against Tori/Porygon2 has begun, and it would appear that Tori is always one step ahead, but can he really plan for the one thing that he would never expect to see? Especially since that thing is the only thing he truly fears. Next time: Fighting with Humans, Epilogue.


	32. Fighting with Humans, Epilogue

Hello everybody, once again, I'm back with the next chapter of Gijinka. Obviously something has snapped in me because for some reason, I actually feel like writing this story like I used to. I don't know why, but for some reason when I write this story, I don't feel like I have to use any other anime or manga as a reference to go off of, and I can just do what I want, as opposed to some of my other stories that do have certain boundaries I have already set. Maybe that's why this story has lasted for so much longer than any other story I've written. With this, I mark the thirty first chapter of this story, but it won't be until the next chapter that the Japan Arc comes to a close finally; over twenty chapters for this one, man, and the next one I write will probably be about fifteen, and then the last will be in the upper twenties if I can help it. I promise some really fun chapters through the rest of this story, but first, you guys all want to see how this goes down, right. Well, let's begin. FYI, we're back to Itzal's point of view.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 31: Fighting with Humans; Epilogue<p>

It took no more than ten minutes. That was it. I could barely see anything, and all I knew about what had just happened was based solely on what I saw laying before me. It wasn't anything that could be simply believed by another through words, but had to be something that was witnessed. Like the eruption of an ancient volcano, or the destruction of an entire city by a bomb, this was a horror that had to have been seen in order to grasp what actually happened. I didn't believe what I saw to be possible. I don't think I'd ever believe something as outrageous as that, but in front of my eyes, Tori had soundly defeated all nine pokémon that I had come with, and was still holding the last one above the ground by the neck, barely paying Flygon any attention, and instead staring directly at me. I saw his lips curl into a smile as he released the ground and dragon type pokémon, resulting in a small pile of his victims before me, and if the inside of our classroom was any indication, Tori had defeated fifteen pokémon single handedly.

"I tried to warn you, Duskull," he said, walking towards me, down from the pile he stood on, his hands still charged with electricity. "I'm too powerful for you to take me so lightly. Even if you come after me with more than ten pokémon, the difference in our levels are too great for any of them to take me on, and give me a serious fight. Do you really think that these pokémon would be able to defeat me?" he asked, as I noticed a small movement from the pile.

"I didn't think that that would be the case," I said, an Ice Beam attack already prepared in my hand. "I knew!" I shouted, releasing the ice attack towards the criminal that was my friend, already expecting what he was going to do next.

Slicing directly through the beam of frozen water, Tori raised a single eyebrow in expectance, and was slashed across the back, falling forward several feet down to his knees, Absol standing in his wake. With the feather from his hat still standing straight up as though it were some kind of blade, the dark type faltered in his footing slightly from the previous battle with Tori, but still remained strong as the Porygon2 lifted up his head, and turned it directly to Absol. With another smile appearing across his face, he made a sweeping motion with his foot directly underneath Absol, the latter barely able to jump above it before making another slash with the feather to use another Razor Wind. With the boomerang shaped gust of wind bearing down on Tori, I watched the scene, hoping that it would be enough to subdue him long enough.

"Heh," Tori said, from in between three tiny cyclones produced from the attack. "What a pleasant breeze today. But it needs a bit of stormy weather," he said, before charging his entire hand, shooting the discharge of lightning in all directions, eventually completely engulfing Absol in one strike, and sending him back down once more. "Really, Duskull, I thought you wanted to actually beat me, not give me a warm-up for my workout."

"What happened to the Tori I met when I came here?" I asked, the normal type simply looking at me confused. "What happened to that reserved know-it-all who used to question everything I did, and always seemed to know what was happening around him, despite it having nothing to do with him? That's the Tori I thought you were."

"First off, he got taller," he said jokingly, showing the difference between his original, and current height. "Second, he finally remembered who he was inside, and realized that nobody would accept him for who he was because of how polluted the minds of others have become by a story that was never told in the right way. You can say that I forgot who I used to be, but in reality, you never knew who I was in the first place."

"You've battered Sableye beyond what should be possible, you completely defeated more than ten others, and what's more, you lied to everyone around you," I said, another Ice Beam beginning to appear in both hands. "If that was really the you who I was introduced to, then I guess you have your own conscience to question for every time you decided to hide who you were instead of just admitting what you did. There might have been a bit of leniency in it for you."

"Like that oaf Arceus would ever allow such a thing," he responded. "That so called god of our world is nothing more than a king afraid to give up his power, or admit that there is somebody who can match him in strength. He saw what I was capable of, and tried to silence me by blaming anything he could on me. When he found out I skipped through the portal to this world, he couldn't help feel that if I were to make our presence known then it would be a situation where he was forced to use those he had sent to flush me out, and lo and behold, here you are."

I was speechless, my attacks already falling to his logic. It was true that I couldn't deny what he was saying, nor could I say that there wasn't still some contempt for Arceus in my mind. Everything he said was easily understood by me, and everything I could say could be aligned with what he already said. It was as if he was able to read what was happening next, which would explain what had happened next.

From behind him, Tori could easily dodge a straight attack to his body from both Riolu's Force Palm, simply tilting to the right without any kind of effort being put into it, and then a simply blocking a strike from above from Dewott's shinai with a single hand, forcing both back with a Psybeam attack from both hands. Even after that display, the attacks from the other pokémon hadn't ceased, Grovyle and Drifloon being the next to try and attack, Tori gripping onto Grovyle's ankle, tossing him across the hallway, directly over my head, and as soon as Drifloon came within a centimeter of attacking him, Tori quickly grabbed her wrist, moving her hand so the back of it was facing him.

"Forgive me, my lady," he said in the smoothest tone he could muster, which was, like secret spy type cool. "But I do believe that such a delicate flower like yourself shouldn't be engaging in such an activity," he said, planting a small kiss on her hand, Drifloon's facing exploding into a red color in embarrassment. "Could you find it in your fragile heart to keep from attacking me?" he asked, adding insult to injury by stroke the side of her head, making her run down the hall, blush covering her face as she passed by, and took a quick turn down the stairs. "That was easy."

"You're pathetic," I said, making a quick Ice Beam attack directly at him, a similar result coming from his sword as the attack was sliced in half. "What are you trying to prove by beating us all?"

"In reality, I am simply defending myself," Tori responded, trying to prove some false sense of innocence to me. "While you may see it as evading arresting, I see it as keeping a promise to another. One that I have no intention of breaking any time soon."

"Do you really think that you can justify your actions to me at this stage of what's happening?" I asked, Tori shrugging his shoulders as he leaned against the wall outside of our classroom, simply looking upwards at the lights hanging from the ceiling. "What are you trying to pull now?"

"Do you remember the first day you came to this school?" he asked me; obviously another trick but I was willing to humor him a bit longer. "You were so sure I was the rogue, you even found it to be a blessing that I was going to be your roommate. And yet, everything you found out about me was that I was nothing more than a human. I guess you could say that I was so convincing, I even fooled myself into believing such a thing."

"In reality, you kind of did," I responded, still merely humoring him as he chuckled at my comeback. "There are still a few things that I don't understand about how you did everything. Like how you were able to actually convince yourself that you were a human. There are certain parts of what you do that must have tipped you off about your less than humanistic qualities."

"First off, I'm too high of a level, so I have no need for the appropriately termed Enabler," Tori explained. "Without any need for an item that only pokémon use, there would be nothing to suggest that there was any evidence of my being pokémon. As for my hair color, Kaoru kept insisting that it was something I did when I was younger, and told me that if I was going to be accepted I had to continually color my hair to keep the teachers off my back for having it colored. Everything was in a perfect lock, and nothing was going to be able to shatter it. Until you decided to ring that bell. With the natural frequency that was keeping me hypnotized disrupted by an unpredictable variable, like a person's motion when swinging their arm up and down, breaking me out of that trance was all too easy."

"Are you saying it's because of me that I had to find out who you were?" I asked, my anger reaching the boiling point. "Do you honestly think that I could ever have done something like that knowing it would destroy my friendship with one of the only humans I find tolerable?"

"Why did that_ not_ make me feel as special as I used to feel?" Tori asked, obviously not taking this as seriously as I was, which seemed to be a recurring encounter. "But, I wouldn't worry about me too much. A few more minutes and I'll be out of your hair after I make sure to fulfill my final wish in Tokyo, and my promise to a very special person."

"You wouldn't happen to be referring to Kimiko, would you?" I asked as Tori looked at me with genuine surprise. "Thought you should know that a few of us went down to the dormitories to intercept whatever she was going to do for you. I honestly can't guarantee her safety if a specific pokémon decides to do what he has to do," I said, my voice becoming slightly more ominous, Tori's eyes sharpening on me as he bolted out the window towards the dormitory area.

* * *

><p>As I let out a sigh of relief, the only pokémon left unscathed by the battle that had just taken place, I looked around and noticed the destruction that Tori was capable of, and noted that what he was able to do before was all too similar to this to be natural. It mean one of two things to me; either his evolution really didn't have as a big an effect on his overall strength, or the more terrifying solution to that little predicament was that he was holding back. Meaning that if he were able to cause more damage, another two-way street becomes open; nobody ever bothers him again, or he simply becomes a weapon to be used by some government in this world.<p>

Before I could continue my internal thought process, a voice came over the receiving end of my transceiver; Empoleon, with the other two Sinnoh starters no doubt. "Hey, are you sure that Tori's going to be coming this way? It seems kind of risky to bank on something like this."

"I'm well aware of the issues that could arise from doing this, but in the end, I think that if Tori finds out that Kimiko's in trouble, he'd move heaven and earth to find her," I said, hearing the communicator pass off to one of the other two with her, mostly like Infernape by the sound of it.

"How can you be so sure of it?" he asked, not exactly trusting of my methods; understandably so. It was a big gamble I was taking, hoping that Tori would go straight for Kimiko.

"Because he's in love with her," I said into the mic of my communicator, imagining the dazed look those three must've had by this point, it was screaming at me to explain my reasoning. "Ever since Cassandra told me the same thing, I began to notice certain things about her behavior that I had missed in the earlier signs this may have been happening," I began, already knowing the looks on their faces saying, "It took you that long?" "She began to get overly nervous around me, the mere mention of my name was enough to force her to embarrassment, and most of all, she was very overprotective for me, primarily against Kimiko who I'm assuming had a small crush on me at some point."

"Yeah, a blind man could see that," Torterra said.

"Hmm, apparently I need to be more observant then," I said. "Anyway, I have noticed the same things about Tori whenever he was around Kimiko. His speech, while casual, was very reserved, he tried his best not to insult her, and when he did, it was obvious to be a joking way. It was never a subject we spoke about, but something always told me that when they were in class together, Tori was either vying for, her trying to avert her attention to him. And if this final requisite of being protective of her turns out to be true, then it gives me this chance to defeat him once and for all."

"If this does, then we may turn into fried little tidbits," Infernape said, already knowing Tori's tendency to use electric attacks. "If this doesn't work, then I am personally blaming you for this, you got me?" he asked, his voice definitely joking on the matter, but I knew there was a bit of seriousness in the way he was speaking.

"Yeah, I got it," I said, making my way for the window. "I'll be on my way out. At least hold him off until I can get there, and stack the odds in even better favor for us," I finished, turning off the communicator, about to fly out of the window, until I felt a tug against my ankle. "Sableye?" I questioned looking down at the defeated man below me.

"Duskull," he began weakly, still damaged from both of his encounters with the rogue pokémon. "There's something you need to know about Porygon, evolved or otherwise," he said as I knelt down next to him, letting him whisper whatever he had to say in my ear. "No matter what form Porygon takes, there is something he fears the most. It has been what he has really been running from for all these years. He fears the one thing that he can never understand as well as anything else."

"The one thing he can't understand?" I questioned as Sableye nodded before pointing to one of his eyes.

"No matter who it is, I can see into the past of those who have lived, and I can see the future of those that are to come," he said. "And what I have seen in that pokémon's past is nothing but pain; isolation and the idea of being powerless when he wanted to do something. It is often said that there is a torture greater than one's own death, and this is the torture that he fears above anything else. He fears…," saying the rest into my ear, the final plan against Tori about to come into action with that final confirmation as I turned the transceiver back on.

"It's me, initiate the final plan," I said, quickly flying out of the window, silently thanking Sableye for his words that would surely help me in bringing that rogue to justice at long last.

* * *

><p>Flying over the streets of the festival, I could barely make out Tori's silhouette as he ran across the crowded streets, many of the people recognizing him, and trying to stop him for autographs, or some other random stuff. Passing by all of them, Tori managed to run into an open area of the streets, down towards the dormitories, hopefully unaware that Torterra, Infernape, and Empoleon were all waiting to attack him at the same time, and hopefully not have the last plan be truly put into action; there's a reason why that specific one was last. As I followed after Tori in the sky, I could see the roadblock already set up, Torterra standing in the front; ready to take the brunt of any electric attack that Tori was ready to use.<p>

Seeing the roadblock ahead of him, Tori ran as fast as he could directly at them, his body already charging with electricity, Torterra placing his hands together, the stone pattern on the back of his jacket beginning to shine in a harsh light, Infernape gripping onto Empoleon, waiting for the signal. With Tori mere inches away from the three of them, Torterra gave a loud shout as the signal, Infernape jumping off into the air as the former slammed his hands on the ground, a small tremor following directly after, the shockwaves crashing throughout an near hundred foot radius. Taken aback only slightly from the sudden attack, Tori stood his ground, waiting for the attack to pass, not seeing both Infernape and Empoleon about to attack him from above.

As the plan proceeded, the two above Tori released a Hydro Pump and Fire Blast attack from above, Tori still not prepared for the simultaneous strikes downward. As both of the attacks came down on top of him, Tori was easily pinned down from the sheer force made against him, Torterra ceasing his Earthquake attack before the two others landed on the ground. Breathing harshly, barely able to keep himself up from the attacks used against him, Tori held himself up off the ground on his hands and knees, Empoleon sitting down on top of his back, crossing one of her legs over the other.

"I'll say this, I almost prefer your current look," she said, Tori less than amused as he looked up at her. "Looks like this is going to be it for you, though. Kinda disappointing that you have to stay out of this form, and go back to a deformed whatever you are."

"It would be wiser not to taunt him," Torterra said. "The fact we were able to subdue this one is because he was alone, and already tired from battling nearly twenty of our comrades. We were lucky to have this role later in the game."

"I don't know about calling this a game, but I have to say it was fun while it lasted," Infernape said, looking down at Tori's face directly, his head tilted as far over as was possible. "Too bad you had to make it so short. I'm sure we all could've gone a few more rounds with you to make things a bit more interesting. What do you say, Tori? Think you can even muster up the power to stand, or are you just going to sit there defeated?"

"I…," he began, his body beginning to tremble, Empoleon noticing his movements, trying to stay down on him. "I will not let any of you harm her!" he shouted, charging his body, instantly launching Empoleon off of him, and over against the brick wall that lay adjacent to the road; the plan was falling apart already. "I will never allow any of you to bring any harm to Kimi!" he reiterated, drawing his sword, shooting a Signal Beam and Psybeam, one after the other against both Torterra and Infernape, respectively. "She took care of me, and now it's my turn to make sure that she will come to no harm whatsoever, and nothing you weaklings can do is going to make me stop," he said, sheathing his sword back into the scabbard, and running back ahead to the girl's dorm on campus, his speed almost beyond what should be possible, forcing me to do my best to stay with him.

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><p>The thought of my final plan becoming more and more of a reality was probably the thing that I didn't want to happen, given how the plan was originally thought out, and the implications it would mean for a very specific person. Should it actually work, nobody would be harmed any further, and Tori would be at Arceus' mercy, whatever little the supposed king had, but there was something that I really couldn't figure into all of this. It was the one thing that I could never count on, and it's something that people have found to be the cause of just about every failure in their lives. And if it was really going to work out in the worst possible way, it was going to fall subject to this; human nature.<p>

As I landed at the door to the girl's dormitory, I could hear someone trying to get in touch with me on the communicator, forcing me to silently turn it on with Tori practically ripping the door off of its hinges to get inside.

"Yeah?" I asked, waiting for the person on the other side to answer.

"It's Cassandra," the person on the other line said. "Everything should be set up in the room for you. I'm just not so sure that we should be doing this. Using those two themselves should be dangerous enough, but adding in the others with them makes it less likely that this'll go as planned. Don't you think there's even the smallest possible that this could backfire?"

"Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong," I responded quietly, sticking close to the walls as I phased through the door into the girl's dorm, seeing Tori whip around the corner into the main hallway where some of the rooms were. "Tori may be a pokémon that has no visible weakness in his power, but he is slave to his own emotions, and will allow them to take over his judgment."

"Are you sure that what you want to try this, though?" Cassandra asked; the thought had come to me at one point too. "What if they decide to do whatever it takes to capture Tori? What if it comes to actually hurting Kimiko?"

"It's not something that I want to think about, but I can't deny that it's remotely possible," I said, floating barely above the ground after Tori, seeing him take a left down another hallway. "If they decide to begin hurting her, I won't hesitate to take her out of there, and let them just deal with Tori himself. Remember, the whole point of this was to just lure Tori into the room with some of the most powerful pokémon from the tournament, and then take him down while he's in there."

"Just promise me that you won't let anyone hurt her, okay?" she asked as I let out a small sigh, knowing that it would be difficult nonetheless.

"Trust me when I say that if anybody does try to hurt Kimiko, then somebody will stop them," I responded. _"The only part that's up for debate is whether it's going to be me or Tori that does the stopping. If I do it, it'll be peaceably, which is definitely more than I can say if it were Tori doing it," _I said to myself, quickly bolting around the same corner, seeing the door to Kimiko's room left slightly ajar.

Floating up next to it, I peeked inside, and saw the Tori had just entered, looking around the darkened room, frantically turning his head from side to side trying to find his friend. The way he did so actually reminded me of when Cassandra had been kidnapped in Germany, and the amount of energy that I put into finding her. Seeing him exhaust so much more of his energy into finding her meant to me two things at the same time; one, that he was willing to show more attention to her than he was when battling us off, barely having to break a sweat, and two, my plan for his capture was going to work all too well.

As Tori walked further into the dorm room, I noticed he withdrew his blade back into the scabbard. He wasn't going to fight off anybody that might be in the room so as to keep Kimiko safe. Boy, talk about a dedicated boyfriend, or whatever he is. Placing his sword on the ground beneath, Tori took a few steps forward and quickly whipped back around towards the doorway, forcing me to move against the wall completely, so as not to be noticed.

"Kimi! Are you in here still?" he asked, a muffled shouting coming from the far end of the room, relative to the door. "Kimi!" he shouted, able to tell, even while muffled, whose voice was calling out for him. Before he could make it, though, Tori watched with near terror as the final part of my plan was put into action.

Kimiko walked out of the shaded area, Gengar keeping a tight grip on her body, and one hand over her mouth, that evil grin still present on his face, and then a short, straight blade was placed aside Tori's neck from behind, the whispery chuckle from Toxicroak tangible without having to see him. As the lights flicked on, Tori saw that he had been surrounded on all sides by the other pokémon that were in the tournament that he had yet to defeat; Charizard, Pikachu, Umbreon, Typhlosion, Dewgong, Vigoroth, Glaceon, Ninetales, and Ekans. With both of the poison types keeping both of the targets at bay, Tori simply relaxed his stance, and held his hands up as a symbol of surrender, taking a second to look at each of the pokémon in the room.

"You can come out now, Duskull," he said to the doorway as I walked into the room, removing my mask, allowing the cloak to waft back into the trench coat. "I have to say, that this is definitely a variable that I didn't see coming. I commend you for your unorthodox style in taking me down, but I have to ask how you were able to do it?"

"Why should I tell you that?" I asked.

"Think of it as a professional courtesy," Tori replied, looking back forward as Kimiko still struggled against Gengar's grip. "Normally, the detective, when kidnapped by the true culprit has the culprit tell him how everything was done to prove his own mettle. Normally followed by a sort of elaborate plan out of here, but as I have nothing more to do here that last part will have to be nixed."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I asked walking into the room.

"I have told you the truth, there is nothing more that I can do to have the rest of this work out," he admitted, bringing his head down low to show his surrender; I believed him.

"First off was the choice of your hiding place," I said, the classroom becoming a kind of background in my mind. "You may be a computer program at heart, but in reality, you are no less an organic than the rest of us in this current state. But you, more so than anyone else, are a nostalgic to the highest degree. You need to feel a sense of home in order to truly feel safe. While I can imagine that this may have been some kind of motivation for your violent streak, it still doesn't excuse the fact. Second, there was the point of luring you to different areas to either slow you down, or defeat you right then and there."

"I can't imagine Infernape's going to be too happy with you about being used as a decoy," he said jokingly as he let out a small chuckle.

"There had to be a singularity that would keep you at bay long enough for one of us to defeat you, and then force you into a state that you still haven't been able to comprehend," I continued on. "As a computer program at your core, romantic feelings are still what you can't fathom, and therefore have no idea as to how they work without using more complicated speech patterns, which would, as Cassandra puts it, kill the mood."

"You're assuming that this singularity that corrupts my 'programming,' so to speak, is Kimiko due to our current relationship?" Tori asked, still identifying all of the pokémon, simply by shifting his eyes back and forth. "If you believe that to be the case, then you set up an ambush, using the unfounded solution that she would return to her dorm to fulfill what I asked of her, am I correct in assuming this much?"

"You are," I said, still standing in the doorway. "I never planned for her to be hurt in all of this. It's really just a tradeoff. We let Kimiko go, and you agree to surrender to Arceus."

"You changed, Duskull," he said, still not facing me as the words began to resound in my head. "You were the first pokémon to speak out against Arceus upon coming here, and yet now you've been reduced to being his errand boy," he said, my eye widening out of shock. "Don't you remember the time in which you would have done anything to get out of doing the job he gave you? Now it seems like you've completely let go of your hatred for him."

"What?" I asked, looking back through the last few hours, proclaiming everything Arceus' name, allowing Arceus' perception of Tori to blind me to how he used to act, Arceus' perception of those who were cursed to become my own opinion, and now I was doing everything with Arceus' better interest in mind by bringing Tori to justice…or was it really that. "It can't be…I can't be becoming his servant, can I?" I questioned, a sudden snap in my head ringing out through my ears as I fell to the ground.

"Duskull!" Typhlosion called out, about to walk over to me, quickly seeing my hand shoot up to stop him.

"Don't break the formation!" I commanded, Tori letting out a quick scoff. "If we break now, then he wins for sure!"

"Please, I've already won," Tori said, Toxicroak bringing the straight blade as close to his neck as possible without drawing blood. "As soon as you realized that there were two sides to a story, then your motivation for seeing me as a criminal was completely destroyed. If you hand me over now, then you'll become the very thing that Arceus and Dusknoir want you to be, and the thing that you once despised more than anything."

"But doesn't that just mean that maybe your side isn't the best way of looking at it?" I asked, standing back up, the pain in my head beginning to subside as my visible eye began to glow a spectral red once again. "And that everything you told me is the only perception that you choose to accept, just as Arceus accepts only a single explanation. You both may very well be wrong, and therefore, I'll just have to make sure that I find the real truth."

"So, it would appear that this is the end of the long road for both of us in this endeavor," Tori noticed as I nodded. "And so it begins, so all may end as it must," he said, a small spark of electricity beginning to form in his clenched hand.

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><p>Chapter thirty one complete. Probably not my bet work, but still I think I set the stage pretty well for the future, even if beyond the Japan arc. I have several plans for after the end of this arc, and it really makes me happy that I'll finally be able to finish it after I started it, back probably in November in 2011. I can't believe it's finally coming to an end, which means I am truly capable of finishing a story if I really put my mind to it, hopefully this chapter pleased all of you, and you are now waiting in wild anticipation for the conclusion of the Japan Arc.<p>

Chapter thirty two preview: The final battle against Tori between the Porygon2 and Itzal has finally begun, and Tori is determined to see his final wish followed through, and if he has anything to say about it, then it will, no matter what. But Duskull, under the influence of the Curse once again may prove to be just what the rest of the pokémon needed in order to defeat Tori in the conclusion of the search for the rogue pokémon. Next time: Promises with Humans.


	33. Promises with Humans

Well, here we are; the last chapter for the Japan Arc of my Gijinka story. This definitely took more time than it should have to write, but I do want to thank you for the continued support that so many of you, some of which who aren't even involved in the characters, have given me over the past year and a half. With this last chapter, we finally see the outcome of the final battle between Duskull and Porygon2, and right now, Duskull has fallen under the influence of his curse, yet again, and Tori is definitely having his attention directed elsewhere, primarily at Kimiko. After this arc, I plan to make one called the Turning Back arc, for whatever that's worth, but that will have more of an explanation in the next couple of chapters after this one. For now, it's about time I give you what you've all been waiting for, the grand finale of many things, but surely not this story.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I MAY LIKE TO. ENJOY.**

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><p>Chapter 32: Promises with Humans<p>

Tori's hands were releasing sparks as he proudly declared his own victory despite the clear disadvantage he currently stood at. The remaining pokémon from the tournament all surrounded him, Gallade excluded, due to his current condition from earlier, and Gengar had more than a tight enough grip on our one, but more than effective bargaining chip; Kimiko. And yet, something told me to believe him; maybe he did have a way out of this where he could get himself and Kimiko to safety, and put all of us on ice, whether figuratively or literally. The unwavering confidence in his voice, the calm rhythm that was apparent as he spoke, he had told us the truth, and was going to make sure that it was carried out.

"What did you mean by saying you had already sealed your victory, Tori?" I asked, Tori chuckling, even with the flat side of Toxicroak's blade placed directly against his neck. "From the looks of things, I don't think that you have much of a case in your favor."

"If that's what you're thinking, Duskull, then you're dead wrong," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "You see, my victory isn't going to be assured by my own power, but by yours," he said, a sudden look of confusion obviously coming over my face. "Even in this state of yours where the Amplifier is in play, there are still things that are keeping you from actually attacking me. In reality, I believe you are capable of defeating me if you were to actually try, but again, you're too afraid to actually try anything against me."

"What are you trying to say, Tori?" I asked, the red shade of my eye beginning to burn brighter as the curse began to take over my conscience as it always did. "Are you saying that I'm going to be soft on you?"

"Nothing of the sort, Duskull," Tori replied. "But there is something that you keep doing that points the odds well into my favor, and it's something so obvious that neither side of you can actually disagree with me," he explained cryptically. "If you can't figure it out by now, then it will continue to be my weapon against you that will further my own victory. Besides," he said, a sudden spark shooting out of his hand still hidden in his pocket, striking Dewgong in the forehead off to the side of him, the water type falling almost instantly. "I'm not limited by an attack range," he finished, Toxicroak bringing the sword further up his neck to shut him up.

"Try it, boy," Toxicroak began, his normal whisper based tone finally returning from his louder outbursts earlier in the day. "You may be able to attack us from wherever you want, but I can easily kill you from this vantage point, and your little girlfriend over there probably wouldn't last too long if I have anything to say about," he said, a small chuckle passing through his lips, Tori's face, still facing forward at Kimiko beginning to dim into anger, bringing his hand out and holding it out to his side. "Don't try it!" Toxicroak commanded, Gengar's hand pressing harder against Kimiko mouth, beginning to cut off her air supply.

"I don't have to try!" Tori shouted, the sparks from his right hand releasing themselves from the tips of his fingers, beginning to bend themselves before hitting any of the pokémon off to Tori's right, beginning to swirl above him. "I can do what I have to!" he declared, snapping his fingers, sending out, what seemed like, random bolts of lightning from the swirled mass above him, however seeming more uniform as they struck the foreheads of every pokémon in the room with the exception of Toxicroak, Gengar's grip instantly loosening on Kimiko, releasing the girl, giving her the much needed oxygen as the other pokémon fell to the ground, not all of them defeated as more focus was placed on the ghost and poison type.

"Interesting," Toxicroak said, moving the blade away from Tori's neck allowing him to step forward, grabbing Kimiko before she could fall to the ground, the girl petrified in fear by what was happening to her. "How do you think that was done, ghost boy?" he asked, as I walked into the room, Toxicroak withdrawing his blade into his cane, screwing it shut before placing it back on the ground like a walking stick.

"He simply marked the pokémon around him with Lock-On to focus the strikes of Discharge on only those that were able to see," I explained, walking past the violent excuse for a pokémon, and over towards where Tori was still embracing Kimiko, the girl wailing out of fear, tears streaming down her face. "Because he couldn't physically see either of us, he couldn't mark us for the attack, and therefore keep us from being injured."

"I'm not done with you, yet," Tori said vindictively, quickly turning around, his eyes wild with anger, holding his hand out for his sword, the scabbard still lying on the ground, but the hilt and blade shooting into his open hand. "This is for threatening the only person I see as special!" he shouted angrily, blasting a Psybeam attack directly at both of us, myself having only a second to dodge, leaving Toxicroak to take the entirety of the blow.

My eye was still glowing the deep red color, looking down at Kimiko's shivering body, all of my compassion gone from the curse I was now allowing to control me. I walked closer to both of them; Tori bringing Kimiko back up in a hug, almost as a means to protect her, but I had more important matters to deal with when it came to Tori. I held out my hand, and prepared an Ice Beam, my mask falling over my face, the only thing facing either of the two just my skull and a single red eye passing from socket to socket. I could tell that Kimiko was terrified by me, and for some reason, I don't think I was feeling bad about it at all.

"You wanted to know about our world, Kimiko," I said, my voice ringing through much darker, and more powerful than usual. "This is the sad truth of it. Pokémon are violent creatures when they feel the need for it, and in some cases, they do things that may result in what others may call collateral damage, and others would just call it an occupational hazard. It's sad to say that in my time on the world, I have seen one too many people fall victim to such a category."

"Please leave me out of this…," she said weakly, Tori picking her up behind her back, and underneath her legs, placing her down on her bed. "Tori?"

"I promise you, Kimi, that my world will never trouble you again," he said with a smile and a wink, before jumping into the air, holding out his electrically charged hand, and pressing down on my own hand with the Ice Beam ready for use. "You promised me that she wouldn't come to any harm! What happened to that loyalty that you were so eager to show back then?" he asked, the two elements colliding with each other, spilling out on either side of us.

"You think that one little misstep of my weaker half would be enough to sway my own decision on this matter?" I asked, the mere mention of that weak part of me making me boil with anger. "Besides, what does it matter to you? You are nothing but an artificial life form; nothing in your body is supposed to emulate true feelings that humans are able to replicate again and again. So why don't you tell me why you're so intent on protecting such an insignificant life. Would the earth itself end if Kimiko weren't in it?"

"If it were my world, then there's nothing if she's not in it!" Tori declared; I had him right where I wanted him, Kimiko's confused and dazed eyes too amusing to keep from laughing.

"So do you mean to say that you, a pokémon who is wanted by the entire world back where we both come from, and is known to have nothing but violence in its programming, has fallen in love with a human?" I asked, obvious condescension in my voice, but I would be waiting to see if he were to actually take this conversation clearly.

"Yes!" Tori declared almost instantly. There was no hesitation, no shortness of breath; not even the high voltage of the electricity around us was enough to mute his voice. "It's true! I love a human, and even if Arceus were to declare that it would be a fruitless effort to be with her in whatever way she decides upon, I would fight him until he agreed to see the world through the eyes of another! Do you want me to say it outright? I love Kimiko!" he finally shouted, Kimiko completely dazed by the confession, her body trembling before sitting up in her bed, reaching out for Tori, the latter turning his back for a mere second, but that's all that it took.

Taking a single turn with one of my arms extended, I froze my stretched arm with the Ice beam attack and upon reaching around to Tori again, I phased my arm completely through the frozen battering instrument, seeing him turn around only early enough to see the attack strike directly in the face. Fazed for a only a few seconds, Tori looked back up at me, seeing me with two more Ice Beams in my hands, shooting them both at his arms, launching him from where he stood, and against the wall, his arms completely immobilized against the plaster surface. He didn't seem to fight what was happening, and instead relaxed his own resistance, simply looking down at me.

"I believe that you'll find that such feelings such as camaraderie, and love are simply not things to be focused on the battlefield," I said, leaning against the wall farthest from where Tori was currently pinned, almost in the doorway. "Besides, I believe that nothing you say will be able to force Arceus to think any differently of you. It'd be best to just give up," I said, seeing Kimiko speed past me, the scabbard in her hand, beginning to strike at it like it was if her own life depended on it, or maybe even a life more precious to her.

"Kimiko?" Tori questioned, looking down at the girl who was desperately trying to free him from the ice surrounding much of his body. "That's okay, Kimi. You don't have to try and help me," he said, looking down at her as she looked up with eyes still red from crying, but there was a definite longing in them.

"I have to know," she said, the trails of her tears still visible on her face. "Did you really mean it when you said that you loved me?" she asked, a small smile appearing on her face, the mood made by those two enough to make me puke.

"Somebody like me would say that love is nothing but a chemical imbalance in the brain that makes another seem like an appropriate partner for them," he began, a small clench appearing in his fingers. "But, this feeling in my chest, this pain that I always feel when I see you, there can no be other explanation for it, but one. If there were no world in which you exist, I may have found somebody else, but fortunately I don't have to wonder what it would be like if you weren't here because you stand in front of me. There are poets in this world that can create thousands of words to create picture sin your head as vivid as the world around you, but all I can come up with are three words to express my own artistic views, 'I love you,'" he said directly to her, Kimiko's face instantly brightening up in a sickening scene creating what would hopefully become like the ending of Romeo and Juliet to spare me the agony of puke everything out.

Clenching his fingers into a fist completely, Tori broke out of his bonds of ice, and quickly fell to the ground, embracing Kimiko around her waist, placing his cheek against hers as my eyes continued to narrow on them in anger. Clenching my hand to produce yet another Ice Beam, Tori quickly released Kimiko, and rammed directly into me, his hand all that was needed to launch from where I stood in Kimiko's room, and back out into the hallway, Tori following after.

"I'll be right back," he said to Kimiko before disappearing out of the door with a quick wink. Out in the hall, I had already recovered from the attack, and was barely able to dodge the next electric attack from the rogue pokémon, but couldn't help feel that there was more he was going to say to me. "You know, out of everybody here, you have proven to be the most unpredictable pokémon out of us all," he said, looking down at me from the rubble he had created. "You say that emotions and feelings have no place on the battlefield, and yet you have proven yourself to be the most emotional out of all of us."

"What nonsense are you spouting now?" I asked, my anger from under control.

"Think, if you were truly against me in every way that was possible, don't you think you would already be attacking me relentlessly by now?" he asked, his sword unsheathed, and ready to fight. "And yet you decide to use strategy that was supposed to keep either myself or Kimiko from receiving any kind of harm. I can't help but think that you were trying to keep me from experiencing the only thing that I'm afraid of."

"And what makes you think that I'm still not trying to beat until you were inches from death?" I asked.

"Because you know that I'm not afraid of death, or my own mortality for that matter, seeing as I have none," he responded. "It's true that the thought of death freaks me out a bit, and yet you were able to use my only fear all this time, and it's the same fear that I experienced while petrified in that stone cavern."

"You're afraid of not your own mortality, but the mortality of another," I answered for him. "The only thing you can never fathom is that death is to come to us all, and the thought of losing anyone special to you is what you fear the most, and being helpless to stop it."

"So you used Kimi as a bargaining chip to keep me from trying anything funny, but you can't help but let your own humanity come into play. After all, why else would you still be calling me 'Tori?'" he asked, the realization hitting me like a ton of bricks as my anger slowly retreated away into complete shock. He was right, I had continued to refer to him as Tori, even after I had learned of his being the rogue; something was keeping me from referring to him by his pokémon status. "You tried with all your might to keep it from being true in your own mind that you convinced your own psyche that I was still the boy you knew as Tori."

"Was it so wrong to not wish your friend to be what you had feared the most?" I asked, Tori chuckling slightly as he lowered the tip of his sword.

"It wasn't wrong," he said, a small amount of relief coming over me. "It was just naïve," he said, my anger coming back to me again as my eye stayed constant, not giving into the curse, quickly spinning underneath, sweeping his feet out from underneath him, blasting the sword out of his hand with a single shot of my Shadow Ball, sticking it into the wall, gripping onto his collar.

* * *

><p>"We end this now!" I declared, soaring out the window, dragging Tori by the collar on the outside of the dorms, Kimiko sticking her head out of the window to watch as several of the pokémon began to regain their own consciousness, ready to watch the battle that was about to begin above them. "I really didn't want to do this, Tori. I was just like you, taking everything that Arceus said as corrupt, but when you said that I was naïve for wanting you to be the rogue, I realized that there <em>are<em> two sides to every story, but sometimes neither side is the one to be right."

"If that is how you wish to think," Tori said, pushing off against me, sparks of electricity fluxing from his hands, blasting us both off in opposite directions, soaring through the sky a small trail of sparks flying after us.

Standing against one of the buildings around us, Tori gripped onto the brick walls, digging his fingers as far into the structure as he could to keep from falling as I simply kicked off the nearest building, soaring back towards him, two Ice Beams ready to attack him. Chuckling at the sight of the attacks, Tori shot a small electrical blast from the hand gripping into the wall behind, shooting him towards me, two Psybeams in his hands. As we gripped onto each other's hands, the attacks began to collide, like they had before, sending waves of the two elements out into the air, chunks of ice falling to the ground beneath us like large pieces of hail. As the stalemate continued, I noticed that Tori began inputting more power into his Psybeam attack, forcing me to do the same with my own, eventually pushing us further away from each other.

Staying afloat in the air, if only by the pressure from our attacks, Tori and I were now at least three meters apart from each other, attacks of ice and psychic power still colliding with each other, evenly matched, meaning either I was stronger than I had thought, or Tori was still holding back. Chuckling slightly, Tori made one push against his attack, the power output becoming much more than what my Ice Beam was capable of, eventually wearing away at the frozen beam, my own forcing of the power barely enough from keeping the Psybeam to progress any closer.

"Just like Arceus, and that supposed elder of yours, Dusknoir, you're weak to the truth, Duskull!" Tori shouted, the sound of that name he said of that overgrown excuse for a leader making my anger boil inside. "Admit it! You're more like Dusknoir than you claim to be by even bothering to listen to Arceus!" he continued on, my eye beginning to glow a harsh red color, my anger reaching the point of no return as a small difference in power was beginning to show through from me to Tori, a small push back from my own Ice Beam apparent.

"Dusknoir is nothing but a man afraid to lose his own power, just as you've described Arceus!" I said, my eye completely red with anger, but something about it was different this time. "I will never lose to a pokémon who can't even see that because a person thinks differently, he isn't automatically the wrong one…Porygon!" I said, the sound of his pokémon name surprising Tori as my Ice Beam pushed all the way from as close as it could get to my hand, and directly towards the source of his Ice Beam attack.

Trying to push back on the attack from me as hard as he could, the two attacks seemed to be suspended in the air in the very center between us. Both of us took a look at where the attack met, and flew over to where they combined, joining our hands once again. With our hand as tense as they could get, the attacks combining in between them were at the near breaking point, Tori looking directly into my eye, seeing the crimson red color as my mask fell off of my face revealing my human face seeing that I was under no influence of a curse or anything of the like.

"You can control it now?" he asked as I twisted my hands to the side, quickly delivering a kick to Tori's side, a slight break in the joining of our attacks as I kicked back downward on him, sending him screaming down to the street below.

"The only thing keeping me from going crazy is a mutual anger towards you, Porygon," I explained, sending both of my Ice Beam attacks down towards the falling pokémon, still off guard from my calling him by his species name. "It's the one thing that this curse and I both agree on," I said, seeing a faint sight of Tori hit the ground, the Ice Beam weighting him down just enough as the ice encasing him shattered upon hitting the ground.

* * *

><p>Touching down on the ground directly after Tori's impact with it, I began to walk forward, several of the other pokémon about to walk towards him, but were instantly stopped by a single hand from me. Stepping over him, I saw Tori was still conscious, but his breathing was labored from the fall. He opened his eyes, and looked up at me, the look in my own eyes, full of rage, contempt, and sorrow for what I had to do next bringing a smile to his face, but there was nothing malicious about it, rather more of an acceptance behind it.<p>

"I guess that you got the better of me, Duskull," he said, a small amount of laughter following after his statement. "But I have to say that this is too much fun to let it end like this, so I have to know how you were able to make peace with your Amplifier."

"Like I said, we both shared certain anger towards you," I answered. "The constant thought of you always hanging over our heads, taunting us with your strength and the false claim of being my friend too much for either of was us to bear. So that pain was where the treaty was made, so to speak. I know that you have felt pain, but only of being helpless to do something, the pain I feel is something much greater than yours."

"Willing to test that theory?" Tori asked, instantly flipping up, and delivering a swift kick to my side, one that I caught almost instantly. There was no change in the expression on my face, but instead, all Tori could see was the same emotion of sorrow taking over my being. "I guess now is the time to admit that maybe you have something over me," Tori said, flipping back around, trying to kick me on top of the head, but that one was also blocked. "I wonder what it must be like to have even a small amount of that pain."

"You want to share my pain, right now?" I asked, gripping onto his ankle. "Then I guess it'll be okay to split the difference with you, wouldn't it?" I suggested, my hand beginning to release a light lavender aura that surrounded both me and Tori, every amount of electrical shock being placed back onto him from earlier, every bit of damage I had sustained from him was being placed back on him. "This was the only good of having my biological father as a Misdreavus, I was given the power to use the move Pain Split. As per you request, I have shown you the pain I felt, and you've helped to restore some of the damage I sustained."

With his breathing growing increasingly weaker from the attack I had just used against him, Tori looked down at his trembling hands, and then back up at me, a smile running across his face, spinning around, and kicking me across the side. As I slid across the ground, Tori began running towards me, his face no longer the face of any person I knew, but rather that of an animal, hungry for a fresh kill. With two Zap Cannon attacks prepared in his hands, Tori chuckled as he shot the first at me, easily dodged, but then I quickly noticed the second shot directly at the first, offsetting the angle of both of them, both striking my arm, and launching me back against the brick wall of one of the buildings, my arm completely paralyzed.

Tori was no longer my friend, but the monster that we had all been taught to fear from childhood in the pokémon world; a monster who's insatiable thirst for strength would cause him to turn against even those he trusted. I never wanted to believe that this is what Tori was capable of, but now that I was in the thicket of this, I had no choice but to fight back. Freezing my paralyzed arm, I began running towards Tori as he did the same, his maniacally chuckling was all that I could hear. Nothing else in the world mattered at this point, all that did, was that I lost a friend, and I would mourn that loss for as long as I would live.

As he made the first strike against me, an arm engulfed in his electricity, I dodged underneath it, swinging my dead weight arm at him, barely scratching his leg as he jumped back. Taking only a second to notice the wound, Tori kicked off of the ground, and sped directly past me, seemingly with no effect, but it would appear that even Tori is faster than his own lightning as my entire body went into a spastic rage, electricity covering the entirety of it. Watching my helpless body struggle in pain at the feeling of lightning coursing through every part of my body, Tori let out a small chuckle at the sound of my pain filled scream, his humanity long past gone.

"You say that I'm the one rules by my emotions, Tori," I said, his human name giving him a wide eyed look. "But can even you condone killing a person who was once your friend?" I asked, my body still weak from the attack. "When you remember who you were, and not this raving lunatic who knows of only violence, you'll be able to do nothing but live on forever, and never be able to live with yourself, finding that there truly is a fate worse than death. A fate that states that even though you may try every way possible, there is no cure for immortality, the blood of your own friend on your hands!" I shouted, Tori's smile beginning to fade as he fell back a few feet, stumbling to regain his stance, falling down to the ground.

His expression filled eyes were beginning to return as I let out a sigh of relief, his concentration being the thing to control the attack, and with that gone, I was now free, but something couldn't bring me to deliver the final blow. It was strange, but I almost pitied him. Arceus had told me that he was a pokémon that deserved nothing but the justice he had coming to him, but was there anything more we could have done to him? He was defeated, psychologically speaking, he understood what he had done, and now it wasn't necessary for him to suffer for the crime he committed. No longer being able to be silenced was going to be greatest punishment ever for him; unable to die, every mistake that Tori ever made was now hanging over his head, the only thing he could have received judgment for was destroying our friendship.

"I don't want to see you again, Tori," I said suddenly, the pokémon looking up at me confused, and left slightly dazed by my declaration. "You came here to atone for your sins, but knew that nothing would ever come from just acting as a brother for another, or even for giving money to those who really didn't have anything. They were merely nice gestures, but now the most important person in the world to you knows who you are, and has seen everything that there is about you to know. In my eyes you are the worst kind of pokémon you can find; you live a life trying to make up for the mistakes that cannot be corrected, and that's why I'll be passing on your judgment."

"What are you talking about?" Tori asked, looking away.

"You will have to live everyday of your life, looking out into the open sky, and say to yourself, 'I tried to hurt my friends and family by lying to them. I tried to live a life where I was no longer who I truly was, and did my best to try and escape that side of me. However, one of my greatest crimes was to myself, for not doing what I should have done from the beginning, and apologized for what I did, instead of assuming the worst. But even more than that, I lied to the one I love more than anyone, and now when I look on her face, these words will come back to me, and I will know the meaning of torture.' That, in my eyes, will bring tears to your face every time, and then you'll have your greatest torture. So get out of my sight!" I said, turning around to him, a single tear falling from my eye as Tori was left dumbfounded, his eyes wide with surprise, but then began to make his way as far as he could get from me.

* * *

><p>He was gone. Just like that, no more words to say, no more battles to be done. It was over. The rogue had been found, he had been defeated…somewhat, and now he was going off to who knows where; well, I knew where he was going. I looked off to the sidelines at the other pokémon around me, Sableye being the one to catch my eye. I walked over to him, and wondered whether he was angry, surprised, or bewildered. Instead of saying anything, he simply patted me on the shoulder, whispering two words into my ear that made all the difference in the world, "Good job."<p>

The other pokémon around me all seemed to agree with my decision, I looked off at all of them, I knew their names, I knew their species, and I knew many of their stories. Even looking off far into the distance, I could make out the faint outline of a figure holding two wooden swords at his sides, tipping the end of his hat to me, and even further off, towards the highest point in the school, a figure with a long nosed mask waved a goodbye to me, and with a quick flap of his fan, he was gone in a whirlwind of leaves. I finally turned around, Cassandra staring directly into my face, looking as though she were ready to scold me, but simply kept her normal, airhead composure, it was probably the only thing I could ever count on from her, but I digress, because she would kill me otherwise.

"Where'd he go?" she asked, obviously referring to Tori. "I don't think he's the kind of guy to just up and leave like that, is he?"

"I have a theory," I said, walking towards the girls' dorm, the other pokémon beginning to go their own separate ways. "I hope they'll be all right after this. It was quite the ordeal we all went through. But if everything worked out in the end, it should be fine, right?" I asked as Cassandra nodded happily, walking in before me to the dorm building.

* * *

><p>Sure enough, I was right. Tori was seated at a small table in Kimiko's room, waiting patiently as Kimiko began scooping up small piles of rice, shifting them into a triangular shape with a small plum placed in the center. Cassandra and I were spying from a small crack in the door, waiting to see what would happen next as Kimiko brought over the three rice balls to Tori, who couldn't have looked more content, but I could tell he was longing for something else as he ate down on the snack that was made for him.<p>

"How is it?" Kimiko asked intently, looking as deep as she could at Tori who was still taking his sweet time judging the taste.

"Itzal was right about you not being able to cook," he said jokingly, Kimiko cheeks puffed out to hold her anger in. "But you made it for me with all your heart, and that's what made it delicious," he said, stroking the top of her head as he anger slowly faded into ecstasy.

"Oh, that's so romantic," Cassandra said with her eyes glittering at the two of them.

"Oh, gag," I responded, receiving a quick punch to the gut by Cassandra, telling me to shush as things were easily about to escalate, Tori turning in his chair to face Kimiko.

"But there is one other meal I'd like to try before I have to go," he said, Kimiko looking at him confused. "It's the kind of meal that can never be made perfect, but is born that way," he said, stroking Kimiko's cheek, and bringing her head closer to his. I shook my head to try and reject whatever the two were doing as Cassandra could barely contain herself. "It's this kind of meal," Tori said in a breathy tone, touching his lips to Kimiko's, Cassandra blushing like crazy at the sight of this, letting out a silent shriek as the two shared a kiss in front of us, hopefully unknowingly.

The two seemed to stay that way for an eternity, but it was really only about fifteen seconds. Either way I was about to run off to the bathroom before I heard them break it off, Tori letting out a satisfied sigh as he relaxed in his chair, Kimiko still in a daze, her face covered in blush and still in a state of ecstasy. "Itzal was lucky to have your affection directed at him for some time," Tori said, almost shifting his eye at the doorway. "But I guess I'm the really winner for having been able to experience this perfection."

* * *

><p>After that I was out, Cassandra following after me, obviously still hoping to see how far something like would go, but knowing Tori, he could put the moves on anybody if he wanted to. Walking on the outside of the school building, Cassandra walked behind me, still in a state of complete embarrassment at what she just witnessed, but somehow I felt like the one who was about to feel the worst of this.<p>

"Hey, Itzal, when we get back home, can I start calling you my boyfriend?" she asked.

"Over my dead body," I responded quickly. "Besides a relationship like that just ain't gonna work, and you know it."

"I don't think she really cared about it," Cassandra said. "So where do you think he'll go now?"

"I'm betting he'll stick around close, electrocute anyone who gets close to Kimiko and whatnot," I said, knowing the sad part about the statement was correct. "But it looks like I've finally finished this stupid job for Arceus."

"And yet I feel that our little adventures are far from over," Cassandra said as I nodded in agreement.

"Yep, you're probably going to learn a lot more about the world of pokémon," I said, both of us walking off into the distance, knowing that this was just the first milestone in a long line of adventures we would share as we would walk among them.

* * *

><p>Chapter thirty two and the Japan Arc are now complete! That was it, hopefully it lived up to your expectations, and it makes you wonder, "What next?" Well, first is a nap, actually more like my class which is in less than an hour, but I digress. I will be taking a short break from fanfic to finally reel from this story a bit, but I will be back with this story being my primary focus out of all of them. So, tell me what you think about the story as a whole so far, and how much you all think it's improved from its beginning. I may start an actual discussion thread for this story in the future, just so that you all can talk about whatever you think is vital to the story, and how that can be used in later chapters, and probably before the next arc begins I will begin my little side story series.<p>

* * *

><p>Thank you to all the authors who have sent me their OCs for use in the story. Currently I have made use of forty out of the fifty OCs, most of which were part of the tournament, but I would just like to reintroduce all of these pokémon in order of first appearance; here is the name, species, and owner of each of the characters.<p>

Itzal; Duskull. NightFall00

Kazan; Quilava. Pokemonmaster111

Brianna; Umbreon. Alicelouis'x

Id; Drowzee. The Helpless Romantic

Flash; Blaziken. Comicfan616

Catastrophe; Absol. Raimaru13

Hanna; Kirlia. LunaHozuki666

Diamond; Glaceon. XxLoveMakesTheWorldGoRoundxX

Lily; Bayleef. Kitsunelover300

Pepe; Pikachu. HollowShinigamiGirl7

Defectus; Cofagrigus. UmbraFox

Phyrrus; Charizard. Timberstar

Missy; Froslass. Mew Mew Pachirisu

Phantom Thief S; Shiftry. The Guardian 1412

Fubuki; Dewgong. Gatechild

Saru; Infernape. Pokemonmaster111

Nyaro; Meowth. Comicfan616

Johan; Typhlosion. Elixire J. Crow

Keeps; Sableye. The Helpless Romantic

Forrest; Torterra. Comicfan616

Mizu; Empoleon. Timberstar

Mariposa; Beautifly. Penny from Heaven14

Reikon; Drifloon. Kitsunelover300

Danny; Riolu. LunaHozuki666

Alex; Dewott. HollowShinigamiGirl7

Tsubasa; Gallade. NightFall00

Maris; Aggron. A Half-Empty Glass

Agata; Grovyle. The Guardian 1412

Gespenst; Gengar. Overlord Kog

Derek; Abomasnow. .

Temno; Zoroark. Dragoonian

Andy; Sneasel. Detonator Liberation

Lucy; Ninetales. HollowShinigamiGirl7

Azu; Swampert. Bamboo Tonfas

Latisha; Flygon. Mossyhairundys

Icarus; Vigoroth. XiXIXiX

Hemlock; Toxicroak. The Helpless Romantic

Veleno; Ekans. Pokemonaster111

Zamorozhennye; Lopunny. Dragoonian

Hagane (Tori); Porygon2. NightFall00

Until the next adventure, ja nee.


End file.
